Fashion Model Requirements
Women
Height requirements in fashion are determined by two factors: sample size and preference. Designers and fashion photographers favor taller models. Dresses for runway shows and editorial and advertising photography are cut to a “sample size” that reflects that favorite. Once the clothes are put together it’s a lot easier to hire a model to fit than to rebuild the clothes for a shorter model.
The requirements for being a major market fashion model are not complete – they are just (very strong) preferences. Everyone in the industry knows that Kate Moss and Laetitia Casta, with others, don’t fit the “standards,” and yet they have been extremely successful. So why shouldn’t you say to manually “Hey, what about them? I’m only 5’7” tall, but so are some other fashion models I could name. That means I have a chance to create it, right?” Yes, it does. But we have to differentiate between “possible” and “sensibly likely.”
Let’s appear at some numbers. A study done in 2002 showed that among top leader fashion agencies in Los Angeles and New York, 81% of their “editorial fashion” models were 5’9” and above; 15% were between 5’8” and 5’9”, and only 4% were below 5’8” tall.
According to the US Center for Health Statistics, only concerning 3 ½% of all young women are in an inch of 5’10” in height. The average weight for those women is about 145-150 pounds – some 30+ pounds more than the “normal” fashion model. If you put in factors like facial beauty, body proportions and all the other things that qualify a girl to relate as a “fashion model” the opposition is a very small part of the population.
By contrast, almost 20% of all young women are within an inch of 5’6”. So when you couple the strong wish of the fashion industry for tall women with the fact that a short girl has 5-6 times the number of competitors, the chances seem very small indeed.
When a model under 5’8” or over 6'0" tall is successful it is almost always because someone, classically a photographer, agent or editor, took a particular interest in a girl and “made” her career, or because of celebrity in a non-modeling field. It doesn’t happen during the normal route, but by having a special person with power in the industry decide, for what reason, to push you to the front of the line. Things like that can’t be worked for, planned for, or sensibly hoped for. They simply happen, very, very rarely. The “modeling schools” and the scammers seek out girls who want to consider they can be the exception. They promise girls that they can, but they never say what it really takes to be that exception – because it’s approximately convinced most victims don’t have it, and the schools and scammers aren’t going to give it to you.Men
For men the condition is very different. It’s still hard to make it if you aren’t the favored six-footer (up to 6'2", but no more than 6'1" preferred), but the numbers tell a different story. In excess of 25% of all young men are within an inch of being six feet tall. The average weight for young men of that height is 175-180 pounds – not extremely different from what the fashion community wants. If it’s true that a short girl can get in use by an agency simply from the complexity of finding enough tall girls, the opposite is true for men. There is an abundant supply of men who meet the height criteria, so there is little require for an agency to look outside their favored bounds.