Fashion Week in London Forms Model Union

All models will be treated equally in the upcoming London Fashion Week now that the Trade Union Equity announced its first ever model union on Wednesday. The London Fashion Week Model Program is an employment contract for those models working in next week’s event. Equity’s general secretly called it “a major achievement.” The union sets a minimum age of 16 for participating models and minimum pay rates as well as establishes health and safety standards. Models Dunja Knezevic and Victoria Keon-Cohen were the first to approach Equity in search of representation, and, as of 2007, models have been eligible to join. The two now stand as chair and vice chair respectively on Equity’s Models Committee. “Our frustration mounted because of the inconsistencies in our workplace,” Keon-Cohen told Vogue UK. “We are pursuing the simple day-to-day rights that other professions take for granted.”