Brock Press

Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Coco Model Management, a Toronto-based company, is working hard to combat trends in the modern modeling world.
The company's mission is to represent "real" people for commercial work. As commercial companies begin to recognize a change in the modern market, the modeling world will no longer be able to rely on rail-thin models.
Brock graduate Linda Chep is currently working with the company to achieve this new ideal of beauty. Having graduated from Brock's Popular Culture program, Chep shows how her degree has aided her work with Coco.
When asked of the portrayal of models and the effect on young girls, Chep spoke on behalf of the company, claiming, "we do think that [rail-thin models are] a negative representation of the modeling world because it sends out a message to people, especially young girls, that they can only be beautiful if they're six feet tall, a size two, and blonde. This is problematic because, as Cultivation Theory states, the more and more a person encounters a certain image in society, the more they'll believe it to be their reality", and then thanks a fourth-year Popular Culture course.
Coco Model Management holds the belief that everyone should be able to model in the commercial modeling industry and aims to oppose the standard ideals of what beauty is perceived as.
"Beauty shouldn't be determined by height or weight […] by numbers, to be exact," said Chep. "We've made it a point to have our roster reflect the vibrant diversity and ethnicities that exists in Toronto and Canada. We think that it's important that the Canadian fashion and modeling industry embrace the people that make up this wonderful country."
The company is currently searching for new faces, regardless of height, weight or race. The only requirement is a strong personality and an interest in modeling.
Chep was also able to shine some light as to why the current modeling industry exists as it does; why rail-thin models are industry-standard, and notes that a majority of the models are Caucasian.
"The reason that a lot of the high fashion models are rail-thin is because designers only produce clothing in a specific size, zero or two," said Chep. "Therefore, it is imperative that the models fit into the clothing in order to 'successfully' promote it on the runway. However, just because the clothes are a certain size, doesn't mean that the models should all be a certain race or have a certain look.
"As a result, Coco Model Management is aiming to change the face of fashion, because no one, especially children, should aspire to be the stereotypical cookie-cutter model that they see in the media. This can have a detrimental effect on their perception of reality, and in some cases, their health."
Chep and Coco are able to recognize the current shift in corporate trends, one that will hopefully alter typical ideals of beauty. This shift will also help the company without compromising their own ideals.
"The fashion and modeling industry is slowing shifting, in a positive way," said Chep. "This is due to the fact that the media and society are starting to embrace the idea that beauty comes in different packages. This is especially evident in Dove's 'Real Beauty' campaign. The corporate heads know that in order to sell their products to real people, they need real people to promote it. Therefore, it's highly unlikely that we'll be forced to compromise our moral values or ideals, as our unique roster is already in demand."
If interested in modeling or to learn more, visit www.cocomodels.ca.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools