3
And that is how I got to where I am. Sitting in some converted warehouse somewhere outside of London, as in England, waiting to be called to hair and makeup.
Look, first things first, no model ever does not get hair and makeup.
If you are bloody bald, you get hair, and a three-month-old infant gets makeup.
Neither is designed to make you look good; both are designed to make you look in a manner that the camera records you as looking good.
And that is different from the makeup one would wear, say, on a date or to a class.
I am here on behalf of KK, or Kasual Klothing.
Do not look at me, I neither named this company nor imagined it and made it up in my head; it is not my fault what name they choose, all I care about is that the checks do not bounce.
KK is an English firm that does not currently sell in the US.
However, they are the premier casual dress in over thirty countries, being sold under over sixty different known brands.
The top of the line, and the one I am really here in England to work with, is The Princess Line.
This is the clothing line that real-life princesses and the aristocracy in Europe tend to wear.
The line is high-end, well-made, a bit conservative in that good way, what any European out there wants to wear for a casual day at the castle.
And I, Shannon, I am the new focus for this line, and about ten to twelve lines that fall under it in quality, and that means in price.
Basically, I am the face of the luxury brands in the KK world, and I am exclusive to this brand.
That means that yes, I can model and walk the runway, I can do fashion shoots for design houses, but I cannot do catalog and advertisement work for anyone who competes directly with KK brands.
And that means, since KK Brands does not sell in the US, I can do US brands that compete overseas. Cool, huh?
KK does not do designer, wedding, gowns, high-end drama, red carpet, all of the lines you think of when you think of fashion.
They do sweater dresses, skirts, jumpers, as a sweater is called here, twin sets, silk blouses, linen pants, coats, jackets, some ski and sporting wear, like yachting clothes.
And we are here about to shoot the beginning of the summer Princess Line.
I suspect that I will be under the lights for eight to ten hours.
I will average ten clothing changes per hour, which means I will be photographed in sixty to seventy-five different outfits.
And this is all a magazine advertisement, not a catalog shoot.
Why so much? I may shoot one skirt with seven or eight identical blouses, but with different colors or patterns.
Only one will be used, most likely. In a catalog shoot, they all would be used, but this is advertising. The art director wants choices.
My pay, before taxes, agency fees, etc.? Just about half a million dollars for this series of shoots, plus all expenses.
Carmine starts back to class this morning, and to be honest, I really wish that I were also in the Rho house.
That would have been my first time starting a term as a sister in the Rho Sorority.
And believe it or not, I wanted that experience, and I am missing my girls, even though the cheerleaders are a pain in the ass.
Rho is a funny sorority; we focus on female athletes and those in the arts.
Both groups are women who are dedicated to something beyond just school and party time, beyond finding that man or woman; some of us are gay.
But in Rho, there is an understanding that school comes with commitments; many are on scholarships and have to practice and compete when they are told to be there.
The art students are in constant practice, rehearsals, in the studios, doing plays, concerts, shows, whatever. All the time is consumed.
And that is why Rho wanted us, because Carmine and I are professionals and understand that commitment comes first, then the school or class, and finally, after everything else, the sorority.
So my being here is seen as normal, but that does not mean that I am not missed, or that I am not missing.
Angel is not here. This is Monday, and she overnights in London from Kennedy or someplace after class ends on Friday. And she will then be here until the following weekend, and she flies out on Saturday, which gives her a day to recover, and she only misses five days of class for the month.
When Angel is here, I will have a roommate, our choice; we could room separately, but we took a small suite instead of two separate rooms.
Hello, we are siblings or sisters, and she knows I am wearing exactly what I am wearing.
Get over it; we already learned to do that.
One runway show and nudity is never going to be an issue again in your career.
And it is called a dancer’s belt; there are other names. Flesh colored, dyed specifically to match my skin, it is worn under the undies and is, well, male dancers wear them.
As do drag queens and female impersonators.
And you can never tell if you were to grab certain parts of me. And no, I am not sharing all of those details. But know that I am not hiding what is between my legs. OK, I am hiding what is between my legs, but everyone knows that I am hiding what is between my legs.
However, I am alone. Yes, I know folks from the KK design group.
Greyson, Lord Greyson, actually, is the managing director for the firm on behalf of his family, who own all of KK Brands.
It is a privately held company. But I cannot expect Greyson to entertain me every night of the week.
He does have a real life, remember, and a husband.
So, for now, it is a bit lonely.
However, it is time, I have been called to makeup.
If you have had your makeup done professionally once, then every time after that is boredom.
Yes, they will teach you, and you can learn tons; however, what they do in a studio like this one is for the camera, and again, that is not what you want to wear shopping on High Street, which is the high-end shopping district, or one of them, in London.
And it is also where KK has their principal office and several brand-specific shops.
Really, they are more showrooms, and they will sell clothes retail.
But they are far more expensive on the High Street than in a department store.
Some tourists simply do not care what the clothing costs in our shops.
Ours because I have the privilege of just walking in and taking anything that fits that I want.
Why? Because then I will wear it and it will be seen, and if I am photographed wearing something from KK, then they do not have to pay me for the photograph; the assumption is that the clothing I took is the value received.
Oh, look, get over it; this is the way fashion works. I am already at the level that if I wear an item of clothing, someone is paying for wearing it. And that is not just me, but the industry.
So, after or partially through makeup, we do hair.
Again, I am contracted to maintain a look.
I have to go to the designated shops. I have no choice, I am contracted as to what it has to look like.
I can negotiate that contract, but changing the style is a very major item and can change my desirability and thus the amount I am paid.
Even the length of my nails is contracted. And my father, who is my business agent, not modeling agent, massive difference, Ellen is my modeling agent, she gets the work for me. My father then negotiates the contracts I work under.
I just sat here for about two hours waiting to be called for makeup and hair, which cost someone, and I never know who, about five or six thousand USA dollars. Someone, not me, will get their ass chewed out over this.
And because this is the reality of a shoot, tensions are high. Emotions run deep. Things are said, actions taken, and people fight like cats and dogs. All of the time. Everyone is pissed at everyone.
And the model? Well, if we cannot do exactly what we are asked, we are not willing to do exactly what is asked. We are gone in a heartbeat.
Hair was simple today, makeup has been retouched, and I am ushered to my dressing team.
Looks like five today, must be a heavy change day, one gal just for shoes, and most likely hose.
A second will do accessories. She will have a sketch of my outfit over a black-and-white photo showing which pieces of jewelry go with every outfit and what bags, etc. That leaves three for changes.
One strips me and moves our clothes out of the way instantly, the second comes in and holds the new clothing, and the third actually aids me in dressing.
And as soon as the shoes and accessories are on, makeup and hair.
So that is seven individuals dedicating their entire workday, and more for wardrobe and re-dressers; they need to be prepared.
That is seven alone. Then there will be one or two electricians, who handle lights, fans, whatever.
If it is electrical, an electrician has to turn it off or on and position it.
The director, or art director, is the one running each shoot.
There may be several with a different art director for each setting or miniature set.
And there will be set dressers, the ones who make sure each set is perfect and matches the designs.
And at least four photographers; the lead or chief photographer calls the shots and takes the most important image.
The rest are shooting off-angle, overhead, low or high, or from the side, or whatever.
And since all of this is commercial advertising, if there are other individuals in the shot, then you have the actors or models, and after all of that, a stage manager.
And that is why they pay models as much as they do. This business is priced by the second. One extra shot, one tiny change in the angle of my chin, that can take fifteen to twenty seconds.
On top of this, someone is building the sets we use, someone designs the clothes, and all of the clothes are one-offs, so a seamstress made each piece to order.
Someone has to make sure that the right pieces are in the right studio in the right rack for Monday, January 15th, or whatever day it is.
Someone has to clean up the mess afterward, do the bathrooms, and prep the food; it is always basically catered, we do not have time to do a two-hour lunch.
Then there are the drivers who haul me around.
The finance people, the managers, the HR girls.
And all of that has to happen with perfection on Monday morning, January 15th, and it did not.
I had to wait two hours before being called into makeup and hair, and that means they did not know for sure if we were shooting until I was called to makeup and hair.
We do not do makeup and hair just for the hell of it.
I am booked for this session, here and at two other studios just like this one, for about fourteen days total. And the days are all twelve-hour minimum. Now, I wonder why.