CULTED Roundtable EP3: The Future Of The Modelling Industry | Ft. Alpha Dia & Reuben Selby.

Image credit: Hugo Boss.

Hi everyone it’s Pavel and welcome to a new episode of CULTED’s ROUNDTABLE series.

Today we’re taking a look at what the future holds for the modelling industry and we will be joined by our very special guests model Alpha Dia and CONTACT Agency founder Reuben Selby. 

We will be considering how the industry might change as a result of the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests, as well as the global COVID-19 pandemic.

For models, jobs have dried up – brands are facing economic turmoil, runway shows have been cancelled and traditional shooting was and might continue to be impossible under lockdown restrictions.

The BLM movement has also been a wakeup call for brands and companies and has highlighted urgent racial inclusion changes needing to be made. 

So how are models coping and what does the future hold?

*Pavel begins the video call with Alpha Dia and Reuben Selby*

Questions:

Q1: Firstly Alpha, what has your experience as a model been like since lockdown?

Q2: And Reuben how has your work as an agency leader and talent platform been affected?

Q3:  Model’s paychecks are notoriously backlogged and it can take many clients anything between 30-90 days to pay their models. But now many agencies have been getting calls from big brands who owe them large amounts asking if they can postpone or renegotiate payment.

Alpha, from your experience, do you think models will receive overdue payments and is there financial support on offer to the many models who are struggling?

Q4: And Reuben, there’s been a lot of talk that post-corona there will be a lot more people chasing a lot less work. Do you think this will be the case for the modelling industry and if so what effect will this potential loss of income have on the industry itself? 

Q5: Models live all around the world and many rely on travelling to make a living. Travelling right now is still restricted in some countries, but post-corona, do you think we’ll see a decrease in models being flown across the world for shoots?

Q6: But COVID-19 isn’t the only thing shaking the industry. With the Black Lives Matter movements gaining momentum every day, brands have been called out for their lack of diverse casting and also for performative ‘support’. With many being accused of only casting 1 or 2 black models to appear inclusive on the surface level. 

Firstly Alpha, do you think your experience as a black model has been different from white counterparts?

Q7: Reuben, do you think the BLM movement will bring change to performative casting in fashion?

Q8: Reuben, as the founder of a modelling and talent platform, what is CONTACT doing to drive positive change?

Q9: And what do you both feel other brands/companies can do to drive positive change?

Q10: Lastly, what do you think 2021 will look like for the fashion industry and modelling?

*exit chat*

That’s it for this week’s episode, thank you for watching. 

Don’t forget to comment your thoughts and share this video! 

Watch more videos on CULTED

See also: CULTED ROUNDTABLE EP1: THE FUTURE OF THE FASHION SHOW | FT. NATASHA ZINKO & LEANNE ELLIOTT YOUNG

See also: CULTED ROUNDTABLE EP2: SUSTAINABILITY AND COVID-19 | FT. PETER DUPONT & BROOKE ROBERTS ISLAM