In the wake of the #MeToo movement and Time's Up, more people across different industries are breaking their silence on the injustices and inappropriate behavior they've experienced. The fashion industry has been grappling with the same issues, but now, a model and a fashion lawyer are answering the question, 'What comes next?' with the creation of a new platform, the Humans of Fashion Foundation, which launched on Tuesday.
The HOF Foundation is essentially a website (humansoffashion.org) with an advisory board of top lawyers and law firms, doctors, counselors, and therapists willing to help anyone in the fashion industry — not just models, but also makeup artists, stylists, photographer assistants, and others — in need of their skills, and pro-bono if necessary.
The resource is the brainchild of Kristina Romanova, a 23-year-old model who has worked with brands including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs, and Antoniette Costa, a 32-year-old fashion lawyer who has worked with well-known companies like the Yankees and Louis Vuitton.
It's particularly important to have a resource like this in fashion, Costa points out, because many people in the industry are freelancers and have no central HR department to consult. 'With the advent of Instagram, there's even more of a need to have a system in place,' Costa says, because talent, photographers, or makeup artists who have large followings there — and use the platform to book their jobs — might not have any representation at all.
'A Harvard business study found that by the age of 31, 46 percent of women in America have been harassed,' adds Romanova. Having flown to the U.S. to start her career in modeling at age 16, she has many of her own stories. 'There have been many times I've been in uncomfortable situations,' she says. 'Men sometimes would be touchy on set or say inappropriate things. I never knew how to deal with that [early in my career]. It would have been nice to have a place to go to, someone to talk to for advice.'
While HOF Foundation was formed, for the most part, as a way to provide guidance and support to anyone in the industry who has dealt with inappropriate sexual behaviour, it also aims to help models and industry insiders with other issues, including visa disputes, depression, eating disorders, and other medical problems. 'Protecting your rights or getting advice shouldn't be based on who has the money to pay for it,' says Costa.
Right now, in order to connect with a professional through the HOF Foundation, all you need to do is go to the website, and reach out to the e-mail listed (humans@humansoffashion.org) explaining your case. In the future, the duo plans to create an app, which users can download for free. From there, you'll be able to navigate and find the kind of professional help or support you need, and reach out directly.
Costa and Romanova acknowledge there's a lot of positive change happening in the fashion industry right now. They see the Humans of Fashion Foundation as their contribution.
'The silence has been broken [on sexual harassment], but what is there to do now?' Costa says. 'There has to be something to do afterwards.'
