Carré Otis, Alyssa Sutherland, and More Supermodel-Actors Back The Fashion Workers Act Ahead of Oscars Weekend

NEW YORK, NY (03/08/2024) (readMedia)-- On Friday, ahead of the upcoming Academy Awards, supermodels and actors will join the Model Alliance during a virtual press conference to shed light on the significant absence of basic labor protections within the modeling industry. Supermodels who transitioned into acting including Carré Otis, Alyssa Sutherland, Michelle De Swarte, and Lyndsey Scott are urging New York lawmakers to pass the Fashion Workers Act: a pro-labor state bill that would regulate predatory management companies in New York that currently operate without oversight in the $2.5 trillion fashion industry.

Like actors, models struggle for professional dignity behind a veil of glamor and prestige, but the fashion industry infamously lacks significant regulatory oversight, leaving models light years behind other industries. With so much overlap in the modeling and entertainment industries, many models who just recently participated in the SAG strike last year are also calling on lawmakers to take action and ensure workplace protections for the thousands of models and content creators working in New York.

About the Model Alliance

Founded in 2012, the Model Alliance has been at the forefront of advancing labor rights in the fashion industry for the last decade. Through strategic research, policy initiatives, and campaigns, the Model Alliance aims to promote fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices in the fashion industry, from the runway to the factory floor. The Model Alliance has championed multiple pieces of legislation, including the Child Model Act in New York and the Talent Protections Act in California. The organization also runs the world's only industry-specific support line, MA Support. In 2021, the organization received the first Positive Social Influence Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America at the CFDA Awards.