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| Chloe, Cover ZINK Magazine |
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| Chloe waiting for the 6 Train-- "Off Duty" |
I set out to explore the relationship between being hyper-visible and surveillance. I want to explore this relationship in the context of the modeling world—which I see as a prime location to study how the fashioning the self connects to surveying others (or how social interaction has a built in clause of surveillance and to see if this is amplified in realms of heightened visibility).
The Modeling World seems to do what sociologist Zygmunt Bauman claims in Consuming Life our society does by turning consumers into commodities with their “girls.” I will explore how surveying other models results in the “Model off-Duty Uniform” because it is a form of branding that commodifies the self.
Surveying and Being Surveyed: Impacts?
I came to the conclusion in other journals that visibility helps us create our identities and we use our roles as people on the street or our professions or access to technology to collect a currency in the form of a personal visual archive that we feel represents us.
Models are typically at the age when self-making is developmentally occurring; they are all very tech savvy and their profession is based on visual presentation (almost requiring them to at the very least survey themselves prior to going on jobs).
I want to see how the experience of working as a successful model encourages surveying “the other” and what the impacts of this are. I will answer the question, through my informants, and determine if this act empowers or disempowers them as they participate in the constant surveillance
I would also like to define the roles within the surveillance taking place in the modeling world: asking my informants using full-disclosure in a clear question: if she sees herself as the surveyor or the surveyed and the frequency that she embodies these roles.
FIELD NOTES:
Models: Meet Chloe and Sam
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| Meet Sam |
I ask Samantha Folb (who was with Elite when in Hong Kong but now focuses more on school) for an interview and we chose to sit down at a Chipotle, (April 15th) which is one of her favorite places for Mexican in NYC—proving models eat! I conducted the interviews writing down all the answers and then typing the notes for an appendix.
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| Meet Chloe |
Uniformity of the Interview:
I wanted to make sure I uncover their opinion of how surveying factors into their lives as models so I ask them the 10 questions (which I will post here) without deviating much from the “script.” During the interview present them with a printed hard copy of an image of them I pull from the Internet that I dub to be a very public (highly circulated campaign or image of them) and then one image off their personal albums of facebook. I will ask them to comment on which fashioning of the self, to see which “self” feels more authentically them and why (to gauge the impact of hyper-visible and identity, basically asking them to survey the avatars of their selves).
To test the issue of interaction encouraging surveillance I have tailored my questions to focus on the idea of “model off-duty” and each girl is going to explain her understanding of and embodiment of the trend. I will ask her about her image-management and grooming and how much of her visual presentation is inspired by other models she interacts with. Through my sit down interviews (each will be considered a site) I hope to see how self-perception and self-making is informed by surveillance.
The Questions:
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. what do you typically wear on castings? (strategies….play to the surveyor?)
2. What do you typically wear when backstage at a show/off-duty?
3. Do you feel like the experience of being under surveillance has led to the trend of model-off duty “uniform” which is ironically often photographed for magazine street style blogs?
4. Do you feel comfortable in front of the camera lens, the agents eye and the public gaze and enjoy using visual presentation as a tool to signify your identity to the world? Are you comfortable using “accessories and trimmings as adjectives and adverbs” to describe yourself?
5. When on a job what was the craziest costume or look that you have been asked to wear?
6. Do you take more style notes from other models or from out of industry influences?
7. When I present you with an image of you from facebook (of you with friends hanging out) it is from your private/personal realm…if we compare that to the work images from a public realm what are the differences in your identity markers?
8. How important is visual presentation to you?
9. The way you present yourself to the world in today’s culture is increasingly image-based (using tumblr/tech and street interactions) Do you strongly agree with this statement and why?
10. How do you cope with the level of importance placed on your visual presentation?
Permission to further disseminate images (yes)
Reflection/Analysis:
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| Model Off Duty Look (Chloe's inspiration) |
After my talks with both girls I learn that visual presentation of a model becomes a form of conformity to the existing expectations. Chloe says, “I take huge notes from other girls (models) and I am constantly on blogs and seeing who is wearing what and how things look I think being curious about the way other models look is part of doing your job.” The way that they talk about it as an obsession and a part of their job to be shadowing or scrutinizing other girls it feels like they are exhausted by it and simultaneously intrigued by it. Chloe said she is always on blogs looking at Model-Off-Duty style and I have elected to include a series of images documenting the Model-Off Duty look.
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| Chloe as a "new girl" at Supreme |
Sam giggles and says “I see these girls on the street with a map and they are obviously from Russia and 15 and look clueless but rather than feel bad for them I know if they wander to that casting they will get booked so they make me nervous!” I am shocked by this and ask her if when she is surveying the “new girl” she wonders about the skill of posing and how she will measure up and Sam explains it is really all about looks with new girls. Chloe says that the modeling world uses “Model off Duty” fashion to create a moment of looking “ a mess” and the whole goal is to look clueless and careless. Chloe says to me “think about it, what does fashion love? They love to have a vision and discover stuff.” This makes me think about Lipovetsky’s explanation of fashion mottos, which in his measure always encapsulate the sentiment “everything new is beautiful” (227) and the newness of the girl is a factor she tries to hold onto as long as possible—demarcating her self with visual signs she is untouched—makeup free and still dressed like a high schooler! The reason is because they are playing to their surveyor and know that the novelties have prestige and being of the current moment is more galvanizing than being last season’s girl (227).
Chloe continues saying, “ the goal is to be ready to be discovered, which is kinda stupid I will find myself walking down the street all deer in the headlights and be like why and I doing this? It is because I see all the other girls looking confused—they want us to.” This is a typical desire of a consumerist culture according to Bauman in Consuming Life where the introduction talks about a product launch as luring people in “just because it is the latest, a brand new” thing it will draw in the most attention (2). When Chloe was at Supreme they bleached her eyebrows and put her in clothing from goodwill and took her picture for her Comp Card. She hates the look but it is playing to the surveyors who will see her as a new strange alluring type of beauty.
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| Sam in a Model Off Duty Look |
Castings: Scan the Room
When on a casting both girls say it is a chance to study the style of the other models there and get tips “for how to better pull yourself together.” They both also confess to surveying the other girls in the same harsh way that they fear and detest when standing in front of the client. The reason they are surveyors of the other girls is because they say they use that surveillance to gauge if they will book the casting and to figure out how to visually present themselves for the future. Sam says “I mean the agency isn’t going to hold your hand, call you in the morning and dress you, it is up to me to figure out how to play it right so I don’t look crazy when I get to this random address!” When I ask the girls about playing to the surveyor in the interview they both say that that they dress to look like a blank slate for castings. The key to being a blank slate is to be ready for whatever look they want to project onto you.
In this way, the self becomes a strategically plain commodity, with hopes of becoming an elaborately decorated and handsomely paid one in the future. It is a dream that Bauman talks about of “turning into a notable, noticed and coveted commodity, a talked-about commodity, a commodity standing out from the mass of commodities, a commodity impossible to overlook, to deride, to be dismissed.” (Bauman, 13). This dream for a model is only possible if she is willing to engage in a sort of negative surveillance where she shadows the established girls, copying them as much as possible and rebranding herself based on what other surveyors (agents, clients) want. This negative surveillance is done in companies to cut out the flawed and leave only “the resourceful and eager players” which is a lot how the modeling world functions, with a sort of “Panopticon-style surveillance in reverse”(Bauman, 4).
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| On their way to castings, checking each other out. |
They both say they know that everyday they are going to be stared at (citing height as a factor) and while they will be noticed by the masses, their goal is really to be noticed when on a casting. I ask why they don’t wear something to standout and they give me virtually the same response that they need to look like they are a blank slate. Models must rework their look to fit this mold and adorn themselves in the Model Off Duty look to have a chance of standing out at a casting. The “Look” is the I-know-I-am-being watched-uniform. I wonder if Hollander’s statement that “dressing up is more risky than dressing down” comes into play here (176)?
Model Off-Duty→ Uniform and Security Blanket
This idea of a blank slate is echoed by the model-off- duty uniform which is plain and inexpensive looking clothing that a punkish/grunge girl would wear—plaid shirts, black skinny jeans and converse with ratty goodwill tees underneath.
The adherence to this code is what sets models apart and makes it so that they are noticed as part of the in-group. Chloe and Sam both say that besides the book sticking out of a girls bag you know she is a model because “we all dress ridiculously similar!” I see this type of adornment as “playing the game “correctly.
The only way to nail it, according to Chloe, is to “constantly be checking out other girls when you are on castings and when you are backstage, so even though it looks relaxed it is a studied thing.” The studying is what we can understand as surveying. This echoes what Lipovetsky says that “fashion and custom are two great forms of imitation; they allow for the assimilation of the individual into society” (227). The mimicry of the other girls will allow them to demonstrate they understand the space. Chloe says: “I feel like everybody is always talking about and copying the model-off duty look in magazines but it is more of a thing for us models”
The “look” is a security blanket for the girls because it means that they are belonging and that is a huge factor in consumer culture. For a model to stay in their “style pack” there are certain “visible markers” they adorn themselves with to show tribal membership (Bauman 83). The leather jacket tops off the Model Off Duty uniform and that along with her book (portfolio of her work) will signify to other models (who are actively surveying the space) that they have found a member. The sense of belonging is renewable but not permanent and as Chloe says when I ask her why she thinks it is such a trend: “We are probably doing it because we have underlying insecurity and it can be rationalized to wear it and be a part of the group like I can’t look stupid if everyone is in this too.”
Image Management in Modeling: Identities are Projects
If the modeling world is the clearest example of Bauman’s statement that “identities are projects” then the task is approached with the motto mimicry makes perfect (110). The amount of time and energy dedicated to this could be see as narcissistic because the resources allocated to the “cause” are alarming when compared to non-models. Baudrillard says that “managed narcissism [operates] on the body as in colonized virgin ‘territory’, ‘affectionately’ exploring the body like a deposit to be mined in order to extract from it the visible signs of happiness, health, beauty… which triumphs in the marketplace of fashion” (Baudrillard, 131). Chloe says she invest lots of money in her look and as a result of modeling she acts on interests in hair and clothing without guilt because she says she needs to act on it to compete with the other girls. There is a beauty imperative in modeling that encourages girls to invest and turn the body into a product as a means of gaining an advantage over others (Baudrillard, 133). Since Chloe is a full-time model she told me during our interview she claims her grooming expenses on her taxes. The investment in the self is acted on because they feel they need to act (to compete in the visually driven industry). As Sam says “the girls are as young as 14 and obviously have a fresh face since they are babies!” But both Sam and Chloe say that they feel they are hyper aware of their visual presentation and while they both strive to look like they don’t care they care immensely and spend “obscene!” amounts of time getting ready!
Sam says basically the new girls are looking to the established ones and surveillance informs their self-presentation from the minute they enter the modeling world to the minute they leave. Even after you leave, she muses, you still behave like a model checking the “Uniform” on the forums (like fashion spot) and blogs. The comparisons are constantly drawn between the new girl and the existing (on these blogs) so facial features distinguish the girls. It does two things in her view: it pressures the existing girl to keep up her look, maintain the weight and skin so she isn’t replaced. It also inspires the new girl to survey the existing model and copy as much about her look as possible and then with her agent do one think to set herself apart that is trend right.
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| A model in between shows |
The established girl is “diligently performing her task” of maintain her identity by trolling the blogs for current styling’s and asking other it girls where they get their hair done and eyebrows waxed etc (Bauman 110). I realize that the agent surveys the subgroup heavily and is influenced by her/his network of clients and suggests changes for Chloe based on who “works” and shifts the look of his girls to mimic that look. The entire industry is based on seeing the girls as commodities and surveying the market, then altering the girl to fit it.
Investigating Styles: Visual Presentation Informed by The Other
The amount of surveillance between models is what shocked me so much, as I expected the agent to survey her and for her to be aware that her pictures are being surveyed. But the identity of a model is only kept in place by stepping into the ring with other girls and working as a group (despite knowing they are ultimately competing) to dismantle and reassemble their visual self. Both Sam and Chloe say it is a self-invigorating activity. (111). Both girls also say they feel pressure. Sam explained her trip to Hong Kong and I got the sense that a model’s identity is a project that almost requires her to become an expert surveyor of her competition and fashion herself after them. The focus is on the outer shell and it can be a confusing experience. It is also a thoroughly modern experience as Baudrillard discusses in "The Finest Consumer Object: The Body," the triumph of the body over the soul in our consumer society is a commonplace occurrence (136). Sam explained during her time working full time she was feeling the pressure of being on view all the time. She tells me, “I was so super self-conscious and obsessed about my skin and in Hong Kong the dirty city was making me break out and so I freaked out.” She was nervous that she was going to be unable to go to castings and if she did go it would hurt her name. Models are “simultaneously promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote” so if her skin was breaking out she would be rendered unfit for the job and flounder in the marketplace (Bauman 6).
She also said that during this time was heavily influenced by the girls she lived with.
“I would see what was in her cart and seeing how little the girls I lived with ate was a huge factor on what I would buy/eat.” The behavior and social interaction of a model is also influenced by surveillance, meaning the impact of observing one another cuts deeper than simply mimicking the dress code.
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| Sam Editorial |
Brand of You:
This extreme importance placed on the personal brand reminded me of how the modeling world is like an extreme version of our society. When Lipovetsky describes how fashion is in the driver’s seat for society he mentions that “attractiveness and evanescence have become the organizing principles of modern collective life” (6). Sam feels like the knowledge that you are always going to be surveyed and judged harshly based on your visual appearance and perceived attractiveness can be very disempowering and distracting.
She said that it made her feel like she had dedicated all her energy to the outer shell and was more comfortable showing that than her inner self. At this point she realized she wanted to focus on school and get some hobbies. This is evidence that the constant surveillance can shape a world-view that expects the “trivial to predominate” and in these spaces the expectation was one must be comfortable using the body as a vessel or craft project (Lipovetsky, 6). The issue with constant surveillance and extreme importance on visual presentation is that the girls are preparing their “self” the way one would package a product to advertise it for a specific demographic—which is the opposite of creating a personal brand. Instead you are seeing your self as a product to promote and you have to wake up ready to be consumed as an object of pleasure or be rejected by a surveyor as unsavory.
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| Chloe "work" photo |
Image Archive to See the Self?
I had posited that we crave the visibility because we want to collect a personal image archive that we feel represents us. Both Sam and Chloe tell me that their work photos (while some are favorites and others are horrifying to them) do not represent their view of self at all. They see themselves as separate from the campaign images and yet suggest they are at their most culturally fit (to borrow from Baudrillard) when they are conforming to the uniform of model off duty (with little makeup and plain clothing that highlights their self as a product with good features).
I would say that social interaction does a built in clause of surveillance and it is amplified in realms of heightened visibility within modeling in a way that can hinder rather than a help those participating form an identity.
Reality Depends:
According to Hannah Arendt the feeling of reality is dependent on existence in a public realm (51). But Sam and Chloe have a myriad of existences in a public realm that utterly mis-represents them visually. They confide in me this can be distressing while one attempts to form a secure sense of self. Sam explains that for the younger girls especially, they learn that how they look is really important and then are surveying themselves constantly trying to anticipate what they can do to improve their “product” and then as they book things they are dressing up in ways that have nothing to do with how they see themselves. This can be a confusing world to be in due to the extreme difference in the appearance vs the reality. Sam and Chloe see reality as being internal and private and not always going to match up with their public self. This is in direct contrast with Arendt’s notion that “for us, appearance – something that is being seen and heard by others as well as ourselves – constitutes reality” (Arendt 50).
Works Cited:
Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1958. pp 199-208.
Baudrillard, Jean. The Consumer Society. California: Sage Publications, 1998. pp. 78-98, "The Finest Consumer Object: The Body"pp. 129-138.
Bauman, Zygmunt. Consuming Life. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007. pp. 3-83
Hollander, Anne. Sex and Suits. New York: Kodansha International, 1994.
Lipovetsky, Giles. The Empire of Fashion: Dressing Modern Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. Pp. 3-241
