Requirements for modelling

A few guidelines for young girls and boys about the physical requirements of a career in modelling and at what age you should start trying to become involved in the industry

As far as fashion or catwalk modelling are concerned then it is often the case that models will be tall and thin, to offer the required figure to display clothes in a certain manner. Girls looking to get involved with the 'holy grail', fashion and catwalk modelling; with its high profile, financial rewards and often fame they will need to meet some standard requirements. In terms of age catwalk models are between 13 and 24 years old, although some extremely high-profile cases will continue past the upper age limit. When starting Girls who are 17 and younger are required to be a minimum of 168cm (5'6”) as this is in line with the expected growth in later years, girls over 18 will have to be a minimum of 170cm (5'8”).

There are issues relating to consent when working with minors and as such, any model under the age of 18 will need parental consent and often will be chaperoned to shoots and castings, although someone from an agency will often perform this role if required.

Boys mature later than girls so this means that the rules are slightly different when considering male modelling. You should add about 6 inches to the sizes quoted for girls and a couple of years to the starting age.

Of course these guidelines are for Catwalk and Fashion modelling, other types of modelling such as physique and catalogue modelling have different and often broader requirements.

Weight is an issue which seems synonymous with modelling. There is much media attention given to the size of fashion models and the strains involved in maintaining this physique. Although some agencies have become a little more oblique in suggesting what weight and body shape is required it is often still the case that thin and very thin models still proliferate the catwalks. There have been moves to lessen the use of very skinny size zero models such as at Madrid Fashion Week back in 2006, often due to heavy pressure form the public and the media. It is important to remember that you should not go about trying to create a body type which you simply don't have, as we have discussed there is modelling work for a range of different shapes and sizes in other areas so it is far more important that you keep healthy, maintain healthy skin, hair and nails and do not try to force yourself towards a goal that you can't achieve. Very, very few models actually work on the catwalks.