The cost of teenage catwalk dreams

Modelling the latest collections by the cream of the world's fashion designers while rubbing shoulders with supermodels is the stuff many youngsters' dreams are made of.

But the fashion industry is highly competitive and any would-be model hoping to gain a foothold requires the right look and management.

Teenager Victoria Frost had long harboured an ambition to be a top model but her experiences of A-1 Model Management in Hove proved so heartbreaking she has now abandoned the idea.

The firm, based in Church Road, claims to act as an intermediary between hopefuls and fashion magazines, catalogues and the catwalk.

The pretty 15-year-old saw an advertisement for the agency in the classifieds looking for new talent and persuaded her mother, Jeannette, to call.

Mrs Frost, of Blacklands Drive, Hastings, said: "We went to A-1 and had to pay £10 for some pictures of Victoria, which they said they would send off to their contacts."

A few days later the firm called to say there had been a big response to the test shots and an A-1 photographer could create a ten-photograph portfolio for her daughter.

It was during the second visit to A-1's cramped two-room offices for the shoot that alarm bells began ringing in Mrs Frost's head.

She said: "There was just a little curtain in the corner to change from one outfit to another, which made me a bit dubious, and then there was the £165 cost of the portfolio.

"They said they would be notifying all these big model agencies and that Victoria would be in magazines and on catwalks and would get work all over the place.

"I was excited but she was really over the moon and they really built her hopes up."

Mrs Frost's fears were confirmed when she heard of other people's unhappy experiences with the firm.

She managed to cancel the cheque for £165 and told A-1 she would not pay until she saw the photographs. The firm refused.

Mrs Frost said: "Victoria was heartbroken because they really made her think she was the next Marilyn Monroe, even though I had told her not to get her hopes up."

Alison Novis also paid £10 to A-1 for an initial set of photographs.

Miss Novis, 18, of John Street, Brighton, said: "They phoned me the next morning at about 9am and said I'd had a really good response and could I go and have a chat.

"I went down about a week afterwards and agreed to do a portfolio, which they rushed me through because they said it all had to be done in a couple of weeks.

"They said faces change all the time and I could get a lot of work at the moment but maybe not in a couple of weeks.

"I asked the girl in make-up how much it would be and she said £130, but when I had my photos done it turned out to be £165.

"They didn't say what sort of work the people in London were interested in but I had to give details of waist and bust sizes.

"They wanted to know what I wanted to do and they put me down for fashion modelling, dance videos and TV extra work."

Miss Novis, who was at Varndean College at the time but is now a fitness instructor, said: "I had half the money and my boyfriend paid the other half for me.

"It was very difficult for me to get that money together at that time and I had to go without for a couple of weeks because I was doing A-levels full-time."

Having already spent £175, the final straw came when she was about to sign her contract and was asked for a £45 registration fee.

"They had said once I paid for my portfolio there might be a small joining fee but after that no costs.

"I decided not to because I got the feeling they were trying to rush me along.

"When I had my photos done there were quite a few young people there and it didn't seem that professional.

"They had pictures of lots of famous people on the wall and pictures of other people's portfolios but there was no one there who said they'd got work."

It is not the first time the agency has attracted criticism from paying clients.

In March the Argus reported how A-1 organised a charity fashion show beneath the Grand Hotel in Brighton.

Would-be models from all over Sussex flocked to the show, which was billed as a three-hour filmed event but ended after 40 minutes.

There were so many complaints the management of the Midnight Blues venue put a notice on the door saying they had only provided the premises and not organised the event.

Models were also angry when the filming was carried out by a man with a video recorder. They also claimed there was the wrong type of lighting to make a promotional video.

Models were told the money raised would go to cancer research and the show would be filmed and shown at least 25 times a day over seven days in Churchill Square to a potential audience of 920,000.

Peter Beard, marketing manager of the Brighton shopping centre, said this week he had never heard of the agency and that only about 220,000 people would visit over seven days.

Since A-1 set up earlier this year, Brighton and Hove Council's trading standards department has received about 50 calls about the firm, which has now launched a branch targeting children called Tiny Tots 2000.

Trading standards officer Roger Sweetapple has been to visit the firm and written to the man he believes to be in charge, a Mr Azim, but had no response.

He said: "Anybody can set themselves up as an agency depending on the contacts they have and there has been concern from people about the amount of work that has been received as a result of these sessions.

"If your son or daughter is interested in modelling, it would be advisable to seek advice before you pay money to a company such as this. If possible, ensure they are members of a recognised body."

In fact A-1 is a member of the Federation of International Modelling Agencies, based in London.

Secretary Bill Howard said members had to adhere to a strict code of practice, adding: "It is a bad practice to charge registration fees and a good agency shouldn't do that."

He said he had never received any complaints about A-1.

It was in response to the lack of legislation governing agencies that former Pretty Polly model Katie Froud set up lobby group Alba in 1997 to press for a tightening-up of the law.

Miss Froud, from Wiltshire, also runs a helpline for aspiring models and people who have concerns about modelling firms.

She estimated 40 to 50 per cent of the 100-odd calls she received every week were about A-1, which also has a branch in Croydon.

She said: "We recommend people never pay any fee to be seen by a model agency.

"As for the money they charge for portfolios, a genuine agency will say you need to build one up over a period of time once you have got work.

"Some of the pictures I have seen from A-1's branch in Southampton, which closed this summer, would have been laughed out of an agency because the lighting and quality was so bad.

"I am lobbying the Department of Trade and Industry to get the law changed. I want licensing brought back and up-front fees from any agency banned."

Until 1994, employment agencies had to be licensed but this was abolished by the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act.

A DTI spokesman said: "Our employment agency inspectorate has been looking into complaints made about model agencies. There is a good chance legislation will be introduced to regulate them in the future."

Peter Azim, who owns A-1, said: "We haven't received any complaints from these people so they should have come to us first. We do not promise any work. It does take time and all we can do is try."

He said A-1 dealt with more than 5,000 companies but declined to name any of them.

He said: "When Mrs Frost cancelled the cheque we said we wouldn't deal with her and she is in the wrong."

Mr Azim said it was not illegal to charge a registration fee and models were always told in advance. He added: "If someone is not happy with their portfolio we refund them their money.

"We do reshoots for every single model every six months so everybody gets a free portfolio. If one look has not worked we will then create a new look."

Mr Azim said the catwalk show was not screened at Churchill Square because of problems with the film company.

*l For further information about Alba's work, call 01980 595099.