According to Sara Ziff, New York’s fashion industry is on the precipice of “real progress.”
Ziff, executive director of the advocacy group Model Alliance, was referring to the implementation of the The Fashion Workers Act, which is set to go into effect June 19 after being signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2024. The law aims to protect models from exploitation, harassment and the growing use of AI in an industry that New York State senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who introduced the bill, said “largely lacked transparency, accountability and workplace safety standards for its workers” despite bringing in a vital $2 billion in annual tax revenue for the state.
“For so many years in New York, modeling and the industry has been treated like a luxury item where workers literally had to pay out of their own pockets to get contracts and other important work,” said Hoylman-Sigal. “We have reversed that and are finally putting the onus on management companies.”
On Tuesday, Ziff, Hoylman-Sigal, New York State Department of Labor commissioner Roberta Reardon, models including Alyssa Sutherland, Leyna Bloom and Barrett Pall and CFDA chief executive Steven Kolb, among others, gathered at the Fashion Institute of Technology to unpack the specific changes the law is set to bring about — and the wider impact it could have on the well-being of models.
Though they must comply with the law starting June 19, agencies have until the same date next year to register with the New York Department of Labor. Under the new law, modelling agencies will be prevented from charging opaque fees for accommodation or other expenses, see their commissions capped at 20 percent and be required to enact company-wide policies addressing abuse.
As well, agencies will no longer be able to hold power of attorney over talent as a condition of representation — which has historically left models vulnerable to abuse. The law also includes safeguards for issues cropping up today: as brands including H&M, Mango and Levi’s start deploying AI models, models will have more agency when it comes to digital rights over their images, with written consent required to use their likeness.
The law comes at a crucial moment; the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House has stoked concerns that fashion’s progress on labour rights could be stalled. Plus, fashion faces new potential hurdles, including the impacts of Trump’s hostility to immigrants, and proposed bans on entry to the United States from a number of countries.
Though the act’s passage was years in the making, having first been introduced to the legislature in 2022, it is just the first step, according to Reardon: “We need your help to help your community understand they have these protections. Laws are great, but they don’t work unless people stand up and say ‘I’ve been abused, I was stolen from, my overtime is missing, I’ve been made to do things I don’t want to do,’” said Reardon.
Going forward, the Model Alliance will focus on educating people on their rights, Ziff told The Business of Fashion. The group hosted a “know your rights” education event last week, and is planning more. Plus, it has established a support line online.
“One of the biggest obstacles has been fear among the models,” said Ziff. “Fear that speaking out could cause them to be blacklisted or retaliated against by their agencies … the law is only as powerful as people exercise their rights and use it.”
Learn more:
New York Bill Would Give Fashion Models More Labour Protections
New York’s fashion models and influencers would get greater protection from exploitation by management companies and agencies under a proposed state bill that aims to shake up an industry that employs 230,000 workers.
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