Hailey Clauson was 14 when she posed for this shot, but apparently only some of her more recent work is "blatantly salacious"

kava gorna

Another day, another tabloid scandal involving controversial fashion images of an underage model. On Friday The New York Post broke the news that American Hailey Clauson has commenced proceedings in the New York federal court against American photographer Jason Lee Parry and three US retailers, including the US streetwear chain Urban Outfitters, over the sale of merchandise featuring sexually provocative images of Clauson that were shot by Parry when Clauson was 15. Clauson, who turned 16 in March this year - and last December, told New York magazine that she still sleeps with her baby blanket - is seeking US$28million in damages. Court papers claim that although Clauson’s representation at the time, New York’s Ford Models, obtained an assurance from Parry that the images would not be published, the shots were subsequently published in Germany’s Qvest magazine and several of the images later appeared on T-shirts and other merchandise, all without Clauson’s consent. The court papers allege that “She is posed in a blatantly salacious manner with her legs spread, without a bra, revealing portions of her breasts. The image of Teen in a spread eagle position making her crotch area the focal point of the image may portray a child in a sexually suggestive manner and may be in violation of one or more federal and/or state laws”. But are we talking about the louche image, above, of Clauson with her legs spread? No. Below is the image in question in the New York federal court case, which also references another Parry shot in which Clauson is holding a six-pack of beer.

The shot at the very top of this post was taken by a photographer by the name of Kava Gorna when Clauson was just 14.

In a since deleted post on her own blog from January last year – which is still nevertheless cached on Google – Clauson herself published a selection of images from the same Gorna portfolio, stating that they were taken during the summer of 2009 for Blast magazine. It’s not clear whether this specific shot was also published in Blast, but it does appear on Gorna's website.

Also deleted from Clauson’s blog: some behind-the-scenes images of the Parry shoot.

Although Parry told The New York Post the images "got stole from me", the Styleite blog has since reported that Mitra Khayyam, the owner of the company which made the T-shirt, Blood Is the New Black, has denied this, alleging that the images had been “delivered to us … with the sole purpose of producing tee shirts and marketing them to our network of stores worldwide.” Khayyam also claims that neither she, nor Urban Outfitters, had been aware at the time that Parry did not have a release for the images or that Clauson was underage. 

Earlier today a statement signed "Team Parry" was released to a number of blogs, including frockwriter, from a production company called Shape of Content - a collaborator of Parry's, which bills itself as a "compositor" on a video of the Parry/Clauson photoshoot. [UPDATE Monday 5.36pm: The latter video has since been pulled from Vimeo. But here it is on YouTube]. 


According to the statement:

" - The model’s father was present for a majority of the shoot. He was shown photos while on set and sanctioned them long before they were published.

- Ford modeling agency assigned the model for Jason Lee Parry’s shoot. Ford approved the fashion story featured in Qvest magazine to be published. The photo in question was featured in the model’s portfolio on Ford’s site. All correspondence is documented in emails approving the shoot.

- A total of seven people were on set during the entire duration of the shoot, including three female stylists, and a female videographer. The upmost care was given to ensure the model was provided privacy while changing wardrobes and that absolutely no nudity of any kind was visible.

-There was absolutely no breasts or genitalia visible in the image in question. There is less skin observable in the image than could be seen in any contemporary bathing suit photo.

- Unbeknownst to Jason Lee Parry the image in question was selected by the t-shirt brand. He was also unaware of retail distribution of the t-shirt".

-After the photos were released the model proudly posted the images in question to her personal site.

Jason Lee Parry’s creative vision for the fashion photos in question is about a rebellious teenage girl hanging out at her father's motorcycle shop. The story captures the American working class, motorcycle culture, and highlights the designer clothing featured on the model. The model is perched on the back of a vintage motorcycle. She is sitting in a position she determined would be comfortable and relevant to the photo. She is seated in relaxed casual manner, a tough motorcycle mechanic’s daughter. It is not to be perceived in any way as overtly sexual.

Jason Lee Parry is professional photographer in every aspect of his work. His edgy contemporary photography captivates the culture he photographs and defines his generation. His photography has been featured in countless international publications and online sources. Fans, friends, and family of Jason Lee Parry’s high fashion photography eagerly await closure of these defaming allegations and lawsuit". 

Evidently there are a number of facts in dispute in this case. 

But some evidence seems incontrovertible: that at 15, Clauson posed in a sexually suggestive manner for Parry. Just as at 14, she posed in an equally sexually suggestive manner for Gorna.

In fact it is not at all difficult to find a number of other examples of underage Clausen photographed in sexually provocative poses: for the Wildfox Couture campaign, for various editorials and also what appear to be test shots taken when she was 14, as published on The Fashion Spot website in early 2009. 

Here is a selection (photo gallery best viewed on the blog):

Just a reminder that Clauson is no consenting adult. She is a minor.

If underage models continue to appear in these kinds of photoshoots , it is solely because adults have enabled them. The buck stops with them. Not just photographers, stylists and editors but model agents and yes, parents. Any model under the age of 16 is supposed to be chaperoned on work assignments. 

If Clauson’s parents don’t like their daughter posing in “sexually suggestive” positions, then why have they allowed her to do so, over and over again, for two years? 

Scouted during an open casting call in LA in 2008, Clauson’s rise has been meteoric, in spite of her age. More than one model under the age of 16 has found herself unable to work during the Paris show season, for example, due to stricter regulations in France.

At 15, Clauson nevertheless walked in 14 shows in her first international show season, Spring/Summer 2011, in September/October 2010. These included blue chip names such as Calvin Klein, Gucci, Versace and in Paris, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Christian Dior, Miu Miu and Lanvin. She then added the Gucci and DSquared2 SS11 advertising campaigns to her CV, propelling her virtually overnight into the models.com Top 50 Women rankings (at #45). She has also been photographed for W, Elle, Numéro and the Chinese, Russian, French and Italian editions of Vogue.

Since the Jason Lee Parry shoot, Clauson has changed agencies twice in New York, moving from Ford to Marilyn and then earlier this year, to Next Model Management.

photo gallery:


1: kava gorna
2, 3, 4: wildfox couture campaign via leather studded kiss
5: unknown via TFS
6: unknown via TFS
7: tony duran via hailey clauson's blog
8: tony duran via hailey clauson's blog
9. greg kadel for numéro may 2011 via models.com
10: tony duran via TFS

What Catherine did Next

christian dior RTW FW0809/sonny vandevelde via TFS

Catherine McNeil might still be listed as the world number 24 on models.com’s Top 50 Women list, but we have not seen much work from her of late. In fact a Vogue Australia cover in February this year, her fifth Vogue Australia cover, appears to be the highlight of her 2011 portfolio so far – after a stellar 2010 that saw McNeil book, among many other jobs, four advertising campaigns: Givenchy Fall/Winter 2010 ready to wear and Narciso Rodriguez, Carolina Herrera and Lanca fragrances. And all of this in spite of the fact that she had skipped several international show seasons. But there has been some movement on McNeil’s models.com profile. Her New York agency is now listed as Ford, as opposed to Next Model Management, which is the agency that launched McNeil's international career in 2006. Although models.com still has McNeil listed with Next’s affiliate agencies in London, Milan and Paris, Stephen Lee, McNeil’s former agent at Next, told frockwriter that, as of yesterday, Next no longer represented McNeil in any market. “We wish Catherine all the best for the future both personally and professionally” is all tight-lipped Lee would say. So, did she jump or was she pushed?  

It is certainly true that models move around from agency to agency. McNeil is not the only model to leave Next - or notably, the only model to leave Next for Ford. She is in fact the second Australian to jump ship from Next to Ford in five months, after Elyse Taylor in around November last year. Both models remain with the same Australian “mother agency” in Sydney – Chic Management.

In May 2010, Next sued Ford for allegedly poaching three of its top contracted models, Poles Ania Cywinska and Anna Jagodzinska and Estonian Karmen Pedaru. Seven months later, the three models in question initiated a claim against Next for US$3.66million in back pay and punitive damages.

It is unclear whether these cases have been scheduled for later hearings, settled – or perhaps even thrown - out of court. 

What is clear is that there has been bad blood between the two agencies for quite some time, with Ford reportedly taking legal action against Next on at least three previous occasions over alleged model poaching. In one 2009 suit, Ford claimed that Next had wrongfully acquired models and employees under exclusive contract with Ford six times in less than a year.

As for McNeil, she might well currently be ranked the world #24 by models.com, however she debuted on the list at #26 four years ago. And by July 2010, she had made it as high as #12.
 
But while McNeil’s MDC ranking is going south, Next currently has three models in the site's world top 5: Anja Rubik (#3), Karlie Kloss (#4) and Abbey Lee Kershaw (#5).

The winner, at just 14, of Australia's 2003 Girlfriend Model Search, McNeil remained at school and worked locally for three years before being launched internationally at the age of 17.

After an introduction by Next in late 2006, McNeil secured a six-month exclusive contract with leading photographer Mario Testino, which saw her shoot covers for Vogue Paris and V Magazine in record time. In March 2007, The New York Times called her “Fashion’s latest crush”.

Whether McNeil wants to work or not, is her business. She has achieved more in the past four years than many models do in an entire career. There are certainly much easier jobs than modelling - particularly modelling at an elite international level, where the pressures are extraordinary.

We wish her luck with her new agency.  

Catherine McNeil scores her fifth Vogue Australia cover

vogue australia via TFS

It seems Vogue Australia just can't get enough of Catherine McNeil. Just five months after her last Vogue Australia cover, an edition which also included multiple McNeil editorials, here she is on the cover of the magazine's February 2011 issue. According to McNeil's mother agency Chic Management, the cover was shot by Max Doyle in Sydney "several months ago" - before McNeil cut her hair into a short bob and died it black (and was quite possibly shot in August, when she was in town for the David Jones Spring/Summer 2010/2011 runway show). This is McNeil's fifth Vogue Australia cover. Currently at home enjoying the Christmas-New Year break with her family and friends, McNeil is soon due to return to the work in the northern hemisphere.  

Abbey Lee Kershaw falls off her bike

via babes on bikes

Abbey Lee Kershaw is recovering from a "cycling accident" her New York agency has confirmed. “She is fine now” is all Next director Stephen Lee would tell frockwriter when we contacted him this morning, following days of rumours on online model fan sites. Lee provided no other details and nor could Kershaw's Sydney mother agency Chic Management, for whom the accident appeared to be news when we called. Good to hear that she is OK. Bike accidents can be nasty - especially if you are not wearing a helmet (no idea whether this applies here). But it does most likely explain why Kershaw, one of Chanel's current season advertising faces, was a no-show at the brand's Pre-Fall presentation in Paris on Tuesday. Australia was repped at the show instead by Priscillas' upwardly mobile Bambi Northwood-Blyth and Lauren Brown, the second Chanel show in three months for both models, following the Spring/Summer 2011 season in Paris. The accident does not, however, explain why Kershaw missed out on walking last month's Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, after two consecutive years in the show. She attended castings but was just not cast in the final lineup, say our sources. Kershaw has had more than her fair share of injuries. In October 2008, she fell on Rodarte’s runway in New York in a pair of very high Nicholas Kirkwood shoes. Three weeks later in Paris, she fainted on Alexander McQueen’s runway in a tight corset. 

A knee problem – that apparently predated, but presumably was not helped by, the Rodarte fall – prompted her to pull out of the following season altogether. 

At the time Chic Management told frockwriter that Kershaw had a longstanding problem with her knee ligaments and she made the decision to skip the Fall Winter 2009/2010 season after an arthroscopic investigation revealed bone fragments.

Kershaw is not Chic Management's only accident-prone modelling superstar.

In January 2009, Catherine McNeil was photographed on crutches in Sydney. According to Chic Management, she injured the ligaments in one knee after a "trekking" holiday with her family in Queensland. 

Then in December 2009, Chic Management told Australian media outlets that McNeil had incurred a skateboard injury, after she appeared at a Sydney event with fresh cuts on her arms.  

McNeil's mother subsequently told local media that she believed her daughter had not fallen off a skateboard, but rather, had fallen down some stairs. 

Black Cat

Yesterday frockwriter mentioned that Australian supermod Catherine McNeil had just undergone a rather dramatic change of hair and is now sporting a short black bob. Well here are the first images of said do, courtesy McNeil's New York agency Next Model Management. This is all Next would release, ditto the only other info: that it was cut/coloured by "a friend". Which may be code for McNeil's hair having been done on a recent job that has yet to be unveiled. Just as fellow Aussie and Chic/Next stablemate Abbey Lee Kershaw recently had her hair cut by Chanel during the shooting of the Fall/Winter 2010/2011 campaign. It's an interesting look for McNeil. Almost a little Beatle-esque. Or should that be... Bieber-esque?

all images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by next model management