Rowan works as a fashion model. The day we met, she told me she was supposed to head to Ismailia the next morning to take part in a fashion show — “a gig,” as it is called in the lexicon of her world. But by that night, she still hadn’t heard anything. When the show coordinator did call, Rowan was told the event was cancelled because the stage collapsed during a heavy rainfall.
Each gig is divided into three main phases. In the first, an agent goes through photos and selects models to take part in the show and then meets with them. After the selection is confirmed, the models try on the different outfits and do fittings. This is the second phase, and can last for several hours.
When these preparations are over, the model is ready for the final phase: the catwalk. This is another 12 hours of continuous work, starting with trying on the clothes, applying makeup and getting to the stage. After the catwalk, the gig is over. On average, Rowan is paid LE1,500 for each job.
This was October. Rowan had declined an offer for a three-day gig in a big fashion show in favor of the Ismailia one. She had also declined an offer at City Stars mall in Nasr City. But with the Ismailia gig cancelled and the City Stars event postponed to the following week, Rowan was hit with a loss at the beginning of the busiest week in the fashion season. This is why she is frustrated.
Rowan is 26 years old. She was born in Alexandria, but has been living on her own in Cairo for years. She has the Alexandrian spirit typical of the coastal city and its people. She talks quickly and laughs loudly. She meets many friends every day — Rowan says she loves people and their continuous presence in her life makes her happy.
A tall, slender brunette, she matches the physical standards of the industry. Rowan is still a student in her third year in the English-language faculty of commerce at Alexandria University. But completing the degree is not at the top of her priorities right now.
“I realized that my field of study is not that interesting,” she says. “I need a field that allows for more creativity.”
Now, with three more days without work, Rowan has time to spend on her different hobbies. She likes painting and photography. She designs different accessories. And whenever possible, she goes back to her old habits and plays the electric guitar. From time to time, Rowan sits in front of her computer screen, making adjustments to different photos of her and her colleagues on Lightroom. She adds a shadow here, a touch of brightness there, as she continues to play, trying to get her concepts of beauty onto the screen.
She enjoys her time, but must constantly remind herself that she needs to secure a gig soon, especially with the last cancellation. Maybe it’s time to make some calls to audition coordinators.
Casting agencies regulate a model’s work, for the most part, and there are dozens operating in Egypt, both as companies and individual agents. These agencies secure models for commercials, television series, fashion shows and any other business activity that requires beautiful women. Most of these agencies work across different fields, while a few are specialized — agencies dedicated to fashion models, others to commercials, and so on.
The way that casting agencies operate in Egypt is different from the prevalent model in the rest of the world. Usually, agencies sign contracts with different models. These contracts specify the nature of work required and the number of shows in which they are expected to participate. Models work exclusively with their agencies in return for a fixed sum of money stipulated in the contract, or a regular salary for the period of the contract. This makes the model herself the center of the agency’s work. But in Egypt it is the event, not the model, at the heart of things.
The seasonal nature of the market and the absence of any legal regulation means that agencies are not focused on the model’s career, nor compelled to use contracts. Their attention goes instead to organizing different events. The agency-model relationship doesn’t start until the agency successfully secures the right to organize an event, at which time it flips through its rolodex to find models to participate.
“That’s the problem with this kind of work in Egypt. The model here works on a freelance basis,” Rowan explains. “Nothing is guaranteed. It’s one gig at a time.”
At 18, Rowan turned down a modeling opportunity and went on to work in different jobs until she met another model two years ago, who told her that she has the body of a model and would be entirely suited for the work.
Rowan went for an audition with the Face-to-Face agency — the organizers of the Miss Egypt beauty pageant —and started her new career.
Two decades ago, the majority of the Egyptian middle class had neither knowledge of international fashion brands, nor the financial capability to buy their products, which were limited to the most affluent demographics.
But the consumption patterns of the urban middle class has seen massive changes, manifested most clearly in one phenomenon: the rise of stores, department stores and large malls.
These malls and markets played an essential role in presenting products to the middle class who now had the purchasing power, but were unfamiliar with the designers or did not know where to buy them from. A door thus opened to a brand-new level of market competition in Egypt, with several international brands coming in and opening outlets across the country.
The signs of the changing times swiftly became apparent in the fashion industry. A new generation of fashion stores, brands and Egyptian designers suddenly appeared, attempting to enter the commercial competition alongside the invading flood of international brands.
The 2011 revolution was also a key point of transformation for Egypt’s fashion industry, Rowan says, because the Arab revolutions brought more attention to Egypt and the region generally.
“The Western consumer is now going back to nature, to ‘eastern images’ and ethnic cultures,” Rowan adds, noting that is part of the Western world’s wider acceptance of Egypt and the East.
Rowan tells me that she has her family’s blessing and full support. She says there has been a marked change in family attitudes and perceptions of the fashion industry.
“Money talks,” she explains. Given today’s increased economic pressure, many families have been compelled to be more accepting of a variety of activities that constitute good sources of income for their children.
“This is the reason the number of models is increasing, by the way,” she notes, “as well as the number of teaching academies for male and female models.”
But there are aspects of being a model that bother her. Rowan doesn’t like it when people find out what she does for a living, for example. “When people realize that I’m a model, they automatically assume I’m stupid,” she says, frustrated that she doesn’t know what to do to get past this widespread stereotype.
In addition, her work as a model requires some publicity and promotion, which means a life that is less private and more open to others. With social media networks now a main component in our daily lives, companies have started to build their online presence. There are several designers and models who have gained fame on Facebook and Instagram. The fashion world — its producers and consumers — now live on the internet and are gaining new ground every day in the virtual realm.
“I tried to stay away from Facebook and Instagram,” Rowans says, “but I realized it’s impossible. In order to obtain gigs regularly, I have to sacrifice part of my personal life.”
This is one of her main struggles — finding a way to keep the online part of her life as small as possible can so she can still secure work without losing complete control over her identity.
Even when her photo was on the cover of the October issue of Identity magazine, Rowan did not give it all that much importance. “Fashion is not the most important issue. The fashion industry builds a strong personality,” she says. “What’s important in the industry is possessing the ability to express yourself. When you have that, it’s simple.”
I ask her whether she thinks of modeling as a long-term profession. She answers that she knows her body will not always be fit for modeling. She tells me that she also enjoys photography, which is an essential component of all fashion shows.
“Most people who work as models think of it as an opportunity leading to acting, fashion design or starting a casting agency,” Rowan replies. But I insist on a more direct answer.
“My work as a model is a show of other people’s creativity … but I want to do work where there is more freedom to create. For me, modeling is a good way to spend my 20s,” she says with a smile.
All photos by Karim Alawi
