These days the catwalks of Milan will be empty. Models will be ‘crossing their legs’ for three hours from 4 to 7 this afternoon in protest against the lack of regulations in the fashion world that allow anyone to assume the job of an agent, and for a law for the registration of agencies. Models from agencies adhering to ASSEM, the association uniting nine of the most important modelling agencies, will take part in the strike. The trouble is due to ‘unfair’ competition from foreign agencies, which can open and close branches in Italy with a few months, and invoice, for example, in Luxembourg, but also and especially due to the difficulty of working in a completely deregulated field of work. Complaints are that the absence of regulations, and therefore of ‘permits’, is making visa processes of models from the East take much longer than they should be and also make it necessary to check and see whether the model will be falling into the clutches of agencies that have nothing to do with the fashion industry. To talk about this, agents and models have set a date today at 5pm at the Palazzo delle Stelline for an open debate on the sector’s problems in Italy and especially in Milan, fashion capital, which manages 85 percent of business related to fashion shows with its 15 agencies. The meeting will be about foreign competition working without the need of a licence and the necessity of a agency registration to protect models, as well as agencies, and to assure profits for both parties. Just to give an idea of the situation, of the 500 to 20,000 euros paid to top models for a fashion show, the agency takes 20 percent.

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