New York seeks to protect young models with new law

Amanda Holpuch

A New York law signed by the governor on Monday is set to increase protections for young models and restrict the use of teenagers on runways at New York Fashion Week, giving them the same protections as minors who act, dance and play music professionally.

"We might actually have the novel experience of having grown women modeling women's clothes at New York Fashion week," said Susan Scafidi of Fordham University in New York and a board member of The Model Alliance advocacy group.

She said the increased regulation could push some designers to favor older models, because the bill requires employers to provide nurses for the young models and places limits on how many hours a young model can work, how late they can work and how often they can be used.

Employers that violate these laws face fines starting at $1,000 for the first violation and up to $3,000 for the third. After that, they can lose the privilege to employ child models.

Read more at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/22/new-york-fashion-underage-model-law