Taiwan Today

That beauty is only skin-deep was the last thing on the minds of the enraptured audience as they watched the tall, bamboo thin models undulate down the ramp. They were just as oblivious to the suffocating crowdedness and the dizzying mingle of perfume and the scent of humanity. All senses were drawn to the lights, the music, the whirl of clothes, and the beautiful models. They were women one did not see in the streets every day. They were taller than men, with legs that seemed endless. They pouted and smiled, and nonchalantly showed off their bodies, breasts unrestrained and stomachs flat as pancakes.

The show was one of the three major fashion productions of Taipei Fashion Week 1990 held last October at the Taipei World Trade Center. In each of the fashion shows, models paraded the latest collections of established and hopeful Taiwan designers, and recognized designers from all over Asia. Ever since the first Taipei Fashion Week in 1987, which includes exhibits of textiles and accessories, the fashion shows have always been the major attraction. They drew hundreds of people, most of them women. Those who failed to get tickets would only later see the performance on television. Undoubtedly, the models more than the designers are the star at tractions. "I admire them," a fashion design student whispers to the reporter seated next to her. "They inspire me. I always feel creative after I see a fashion show." Her glossy-haired friend leans over and says, "Fifteen more centimeters, and I could have been a model."

But only five years ago, modeling was considered by many Chinese as disgraceful work. It was an embarrassment to have a daughter of a respectable family openly scrutinized and leered at by an audience. Being a model was tantamount to being an entertainer, a livelihood that was traditionally looked down upon by Chinese society. The job might have earned part of its reputation. Modeling agencies often included escort services as part of a model's work. And their business was generally entertainment rather than fashion. It was not until the late 1980s that modeling became recognized as an acceptable way to earn money and strictly did not include hanky-panky.

The P.T. (for Paramount) Modeling Agency, established in 1984, claims to be one of the first modeling agencies in Taiwan. Says manager Jill Shiu (許熒芳), "The business climate was quite gloomy when we opened. We could not get enough models to join us. We were pioneers in Taiwan, but in Europe, the U.S., and Japan, modeling agencies have been around for decades. People approach them." Shiu was working as a sales manager for a commercial photo supplier, when a Japanese client suggested that she open a modeling agency be cause there was going to be a growing market for models. The business began as a partnership, but Shiu is now on her own.

Things are changing, albeit slowly. "Better late than never," says Amy Sung (宋祖慈), director of C&A International Co., Ltd., a modeling agency that opened three years ago. (The agency's name is derived from the first initials of owners Cathy Tseng and Amy Sung). Sung remembers that not too long ago parents reacted very strongly to agencies approaching their daughters with modeling offers. Now, she says, there are many more young, fresh faces, especially for advertising.

Chan Yuan-te (詹元德), one of Taiwan's most sought-after models, started her modeling career three years ago at twenty-one. Without her knowledge, a classmate's brother submitted her picture to a cover girl search that a fashion magazine, Diana, was sponsoring. Chan was called in for test shots, and became a celebrity overnight when she became cover girl for the magazine's next issue.

There was a lot of curiosity about the fair-skinned girl with the aquiline features and limpid brown eyes. If there was one thing that was unique about the cover, it was that Chan, who is pure Chinese, looks Caucasian. Chan signed a contract with C&A, and her face has looked out of innumerable magazine covers. She is also one of Taiwan's top ramp models. But according to Chan, her parents did not like the idea at first. "My father especially," she says. "He thought modeling was superficial, brain less work for vain people." Chan also says that another misconception is that models make a lot of money. "It's been reported that I earn about US$37,000 a year. True, I can make US$3,700 to US$7,000 a month in the winter, but I also spend several months waiting by the telephone."

Former model Ming Chen (成敏) remembers when she had to provide many of the things she had to wear at a fashion shoot. "I would be told my shoes were all wrong. So I had to go out and buy another pair," she says. Models were also expected to be their own makeup artists, hair stylists, and often also had to wear their own clothes and accessories. Ming Chen now runs her own modeling agency, Iming, and says, "Young models today are very lucky."

Wang Jung-sheng (王榕生) is perhaps the first name that comes up when people in the fashion world look back to the early days of modeling. Fifteen years ago, after several years of posing for magazines and catalogues, and walking down catwalks, she opened her own school and called it the Wang Jung-sheng Beauty and Etiquette School. The school did not really train models, but instead was a finishing school of sorts, teaching young women poise, fine manners, and charm. She picked the best-and tallest-students for training in catwalk and photography modeling.

Soon garment manufacturers and advertising agencies were paying attention. The school became the primary source for professional models, and Wang acted as agent. The models received so much exposure that they approximated the stature and adulation reserved for movie stars. Wang's success inspired other models who were approaching the end of their salad days. They also began building their own modeling teams. But Sung of C&A, who had worked as Wang's assistant, faults Wang with one thing. "She might have discovered and trained many good models," Sung says, "but she didn't establish an example of a solid management system for later agencies to follow. She didn't define a career path for her models either. That is why it has taken so long for models to get any respect."

Today, modeling is still an informal business arrangement rather than a contractual one. Even the number of licensed modeling agencies is hard to determine since they do not fall under a specific business classification. Chen of the Iming Agency has devised two categories: the finders and the protectors. She says: "Some agencies are one person companies. They are not concerned with the models' training or professionalism. They simply find the models, so all they need is a telephone." On the other end, according to Chen, are agencies like Irning, which cultivate and promote models. "We also protect them from being exploited by clients," she says. Often these agencies also handle the production side of fashion shows.

Exploitation is an accusation bandied about by both agencies and models. Many models have not found it necessary to sign a contract with an agency, be cause they prefer the freedom to choose their own assignments, or would rather keep the high commissions that agencies charge. One advertising executive says that the majority of agencies take as much as 50 percent as commission.

"Not true," says Angel Shue (許素琴), director of the new Image Agency. According to her, the average commission is 20 to 30 percent. "It's fine if models think they can do the negotiating themselves," she says. "But clients bar gain hard and make incredibly unreasonable demands. It's tiring work to get a model a job." Shue adds that there are models who leave their files in many agencies and charge different rates. "Much of the business is still done on the basis of exchanging and returning favors. We really need to rework our attitudes," she says.

Shue illustrates the attitude problem by using catalogues and magazines as examples. Models get paid an average of US$300 for each fashion show, US$400 to US$750 per day for catalogue modeling, and about US$750 to US$1,000 to do commercials. "Catalogue producers bleed the models to the last dollar," she says, "and have them do over thirty out fits a day. But they pay. Magazines are a different story. They see a photo shoot as a model's opportunity to get some free publicity."

Like everywhere else, models in Taiwan start in their teens. But their careers are comparatively short-lived, and very rarely last ten years. Chen of the Iming Agency is one of the very few exceptions. She continued to model into her thirties. As she sees it, clients think that consumers like fresh, teenage faces. And being new, the young models are also cheaper. "Models become more self-assured and sophisticated the longer they work," she says. "But obviously, that's not an issue here."

The issue for designers is that they have a hard time finding good models who can wear their creations with élan. As one fashion designer says, "They're either very good or mediocre." General complaints range from the models' lack of personal style and sense of rhythm, to the lack of height and body tone. According to Chen, the average height of Taiwan's fashion models is five foot eight.

"But we can do something about style and other things," says Sung of C&A. "Practice would really help." Yet she also points out that gaining experience is not so easy since there are so few fashion shows in Taiwan. She credits the Taipei Fashion Week for being indispensable in cultivating models. The fashion shows sponsored by the Taiwan Textile Federation during the week give models the chance to work with top designers, choreographers, and directors, and to walk down the ramps with inter national models.

Models stand to gain from the textile industry's development of a more inter national perspective in terms of product design and quality. Sung is often asked by garment manufactures or the Taiwan Textile Federation to bring her models to trade shows held in Hong Kong, Singapore, and as far off as Germany. "And you know what we've discovered?" says model Chan Yuan-teo "We're not too bad."

Yet as Taiwan models are beginning to measure up to models on international catwalks, they are realizing that at home there is an infatuation with Caucasian models. In fact, established agencies have recognized this penchant and keep files of foreign models, bringing the models into Taiwan through arrangements with foreign agencies. Shue explains why a growing number of clients prefer Westerners: "They're professional, they're spontaneous in front of the camera, and need very little instruction." Notable as well is that Western models do not hesitate to pose in lingerie or model other outfits that expose a lot of skin. And for export-oriented manufacturers, Western faces are in line with their targeted customers.

But Caucasian models are making many appearances in fashion shows and commercials geared toward a Chinese audience. Chen explains the fascination with using Westerners to sell products by repeating an old saying: "Foreign monks make better preachers." The fact is Caucasian models are an exciting novelty. And it is a novelty that is beginning to show some standards. Only a few years ago, attractive Caucasians were approached in the streets with modeling offers. That is no longer as common an occurrence. Reputable agencies like C&A and Iming now prefer to bring in professional models from Hong Kong, Japan, and even Paris. This trend can very well work to the advantage of local models, who now have in their home turf stiffer competition from experienced models. There is more stimulus to develop the qualities that differentiate talented models from mediocre ones: good body tone, energy, spontaneity, confidence, and an individual style.

The fashion industry was stunned when the Taiwan Textile Federation announced at the end of the last Taipei Fashion Week that the once yearly event would now be held once every two years. High production costs did not justify a yearly fashion week, especially since the federation's hope of attracting droves of enthusiastic foreign buyers proved to be unrealistic. It was a blow to Taipei fashion. And it could take a while before designers, agencies, and even the models themselves gain the confidence to assert professionalism and individuality. But agencies stress that the future of modeling in Taiwan does not rest on the models alone. Model Liu Chung-mei (劉忠梅) points out that the fashion industry must bear a lot of the responsibility. "Raise the quality of fashion," she says, "and the models will only get better." •