For New York’s Models, The Fashion Workers Act is Long Overdue
After more than a decade of advocacy, New York has taken a landmark step to protect fashion models from exploitation. The Fashion Workers Act, championed by former model Sara Ziff and her organization, the Model Alliance, grants models basic labor protections for the first time: timely pay, safeguards against harassment, contract transparency, and legal recognition as workers.
In another life, I modeled in New York. Though I never stayed in the infamous “model apartments,” many of my friends did: cramped spaces with bunk beds, where agencies charged thousands in rent each month under a vague catchall of “debt.” I remember young models arriving from Eastern Europe, unable to speak English, handed contracts they couldn’t read, and pressured to sign without anyone to advocate for them. And, of course, you hear the stories: models told to strip naked in casting rooms; models pushed to work through exhaustion and unsafe conditions; models sent explicit photos by photographers; models assaulted on set and even by their own agents, then expected to keep quiet.
The Fashion Workers Act marks the start of a necessary industry-wide reckoning, seeking to uproot the structures that have long allowed exploitation to thrive in a world powered primarily by young women.
Under the new law, model management companies in New York must register with the state and meet basic labor standards. The Act requires them to provide clear contracts, make timely payments, and offer full transparency around fees. It also ends the use of sweeping power of attorney clauses, long used to control a model’s earnings and image. Models are now entitled to copies of every contract signed on their behalf, can report abuse through formal channels, and are protected from the unauthorized use of their digital likeness, requiring informed consent and ownership over AI-generated replicas. For an industry that prizes youth and disposability, this is no small shift.
“For far too long, fashion workers — especially models — have operated in a legal gray zone where abuse, wage theft, and coercion have been normalized,” Sara Ziff, founder of the Model Alliance, told More to Her Story. “Due to the multi-level structure of hiring through model management companies, models were largely excluded from protections for independent contractors and protections for employees. Under the Fashion Workers Act, models finally have labor rights and protections regardless of employment status.”
For Ziff, this fight is deeply personal. “I entered the modeling industry in New York at just 14-years-old. Although I worked successfully, I also experienced firsthand the pitfalls of working in a largely unregulated environment. With the Fashion Workers Act, New York has finally said that the people who power this multi-billion dollar industry — overwhelmingly young women and girls — deserve dignity, transparency, and safety.”
Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, a model and one of the first whistleblowers to speak out against Harvey Weinstein, used her voice and platform to help push the legislation forward.
“The Fashion Workers Act is a crucial step toward making sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gutierrez told More to Her Story. “For too long, the industry has protected power over people. This law begins to change that.”
Still, as with most noble efforts, the resistance has largely come from within. “The pushback from modeling agencies was significant,” Ziff said. “Several major agencies — including Next, Elite, True, Wilhelmina, One, and Ford — banded together to form “The Coalition for Fairness in Fashion,” which is an ironic name considering the lobbying group was created to oppose models having basic labor protections afforded to them by the Fashion Workers Act. Next and Wilhelmina are also currently defendants in a class action lawsuit filed by models. It’s a clear sign that modeling agencies are living in the past and willing to go to great lengths to try to maintain the status quo, against the models’ interests.”
Ziff understood these challenges when she founded the Model Alliance in 2012. She had already lost jobs for speaking out and knew the consequences women faced for challenging the status quo. But she pressed on—organizing town halls, supporting survivors, lobbying lawmakers, and shaping policy. Fifteen years later, New York City’s fashion world has finally become safer for the young people who power it.
“We know there is more work to be done,” Ziff said. “But the Fashion Workers Act is a monumental step towards safety and accountability that we hope will set an example for other fashion capitals around the world.”