GOOD READS OF THE WEEK

Can a Bad Instagram Feed Hurt a Model’s Career? Two Top Agents Break it Down

A little less clear is how key Instagram is to the success of models who are less commercial, less headline-drawing, less voluptuous. Do followers matter? How involved are agencies in models’ feeds? Is keeping pace with the shameless ‘sexy’ nature of the app important?
To get some answers, we called on two experts from Wilhelmina Models—Jorge Urena, an agent and booker in high-fashion New York, and Betsy Shrader, also an agent and booker in more commercial L.A.—to explain how and if social media apps like Instagram can make or break a model’s career.
The Extraordinary Photos of a Woman Who Returned to Modelling After Losing Her Jaw to Cancer

Our Beauty Editor Julia Stone worked on this powerful story for VICE about Elizaveta Bulokhova’s struggle against cancer.

Elizaveta Bulokhova studied to become a law clerk, but left Toronto for Hong Kong soon after graduating from Humber College, thusly beginning a seven-year career as a fashion model that saw her live and travel around the world.
But in May 2014, 24-year-old Bulokhova and her boyfriend, Roman Troubetskoi, were in Amsterdam enjoying some much needed, yet seldom spent, time together—during which, they conceived their son, Valentin. During that time, however, the right side of her jaw began to swell. Read more >
Naomi Campbell refuses to quit modeling until fashion diversifies

Campbell, 45, discusses the fashion industry’s ignorance toward using models of color, in a new video interview series called Subjective, which traces the history of contemporary fashion photography. She feels it’s her duty to fight for equal representation.

Campbell notes that in all 2014 runway shows only 6.8% of models were of color. She believes it is her and other seasoned models’ responsibility to talk about this lack of diversity.
“We have nothing to lose now. But the babies, we don’t want them to speak … So let us do the talking,” she explained.