For many aspiring models, fashion begins in New York. The city remains the epicenter of a multi-billion-dollar industry generating $600 million in tax revenues each year. But for every model who makes the cover of a glossy magazine, there are thousands who struggle to get by.
As anyone familiar with the industry will tell you, working in fashion is far from glamorous. Models frequently go unpaid or underpaid, and many end up in debt to modeling agencies. The precarious nature of employment is a major contributor to the high incidence of sexual abuse and harassment across the industry, the scale of which is masked by the inability to seek legal redress.
