AsiaLIFE

Making a living out of being pretty may seem like one of the easiest jobs in the world, but as anyone who’s watched America’s Next Top Model knows, getting the pout just right and learning to smile with your eyes is not always a piece of cake. In Cambodia, where the modelling industry is still in its infancy, even those few who are taller than the bare minimum of 1.65m have a hard time making ends meet. Words by Nora Lindstrom.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to the modelling industry it is generally only skin deep. “It’s not hard to become a top model if you have the right look,” says Sapor Rendall, a former model and founder of Cambodia’s oldest modelling agency, Sapor’s Modelling. Having established her agency in 1996, Sapor has watched the industry develop for over a decade. “When I first started the modelling agency I had about four models,” she says. “It was so difficult to find models – people didn’t believe in modelling, they’d never seen a catwalk fashion show.”

Since then the industry has expanded, with several agencies cropping up over the past few years, and more and more young girls and boys dreaming of making it as a model. “Now I don’t need to find models, they find me,” says Sapor.

Modelling manager Men Nimulroat (Ruddy) of La Reine Modelling agrees there is a large supply of hopeful models. He gets around 30 applicants for each of his modelling courses, which he has run monthly since the agency opened a year ago. Half of the applicants are usually accepted onto the course. However, it’s still difficult to find models. “Most people are too short, or they lack confidence,” he says.

A former model himself, Ruddy says employment opportunities have increased over the past five years, though not in line with the supply of models. “There is not enough work for everyone who wants to become a model, but there’s more work than before,” he says. He lists product shows, welcoming ceremonies, fashion shows, launches, ribbon cuttings, and TV commercials as work commonly undertaken by models.

According to Sapor, the right looks and the right attitude can earn some models up to US$2,000 per month. “If you have the right ability, you can earn good money,” she says. Initially though, models earn a fraction of that. Ruddy says that on average models at his agency earn between US$100 to US$150 per month. He tries to dispel any myths of fame and fortune aspiring models might have early on. “Before models start training here, I always ask them how much they want to be a model,” he says. “Because if they love it only a little, I tell them not to spend time with that because by modelling in Cambodia you can’t earn much money, and you won’t become as famous as a singer on an actress.”

Kouy Chandanich, 21, has been working in the industry for a year. She was invited to train at Sapor’s agency after a chance meeting with Sapor at a party. “I’ve wanted to be a model since I was a teenager,” she says. “It’s great to be a model, it makes me happy.” Chandanich earns a couple of hundred dollars a month. “It’s not much, but to me it means a lot.”

Unlike Chandanich, who admits she does not need to make money to support herself, other aspiring models are expected to earn enough not only for themselves, but for their families. Working part-time is the industry norm. “You cannot be a full-time model and make a living from it, because there is not enough work yet”, says Sapor. She encourages her models to focus on careers outside of the industry, especially as modelling careers usually come to an end once the model turns 30. Her agency helps with finding other employment, such as working as a hostess during Thursday’s Glamour Night at Darlin’ Darlin’ Club in the Naga complex.

Hosting events at top-end clubs attended by Cambodian celebrities is often a far cry from the daily lives of many models.

“When they come here they wish they could come to this kind of place every day,” Sapor says of Darlin’ Darlin’. “But they can’t afford to come to a club like this.” Still, being seen at the club is important. “I go out with Sapor and the other models a lot,” Chandanich admits.

Vantha Vichka, 20, is one of Sapor’s models who also works at the club. “I love modelling, it’s my childhood dream,” she says. Sapor sees great potential in Vichka, who has worked in the industry for six months. “She has very unique features,” she says, adding that Vichka is popular among clients because of her positive attitude.

Ruddy also notes that having a pleasant character is key to making it in the industry. “I teach them not just how to walk, but how to be a good model,” he says. “Because as a model you don’t work alone, you work in a team for a client.”

There are however limits to the extent that models should be expected to please their clients. Both Sapor and Ruddy acknowledge some people still equate modelling and hostessing with prostitution. Clients occasionally put pressure on the models to do more than was agreed upon. “It’s very annoying. Some men ask me to introduce them to the models, they say they want to have dinner with the girls,” says Sapor. “I tell them that if you meet the models in public you can do whatever, but don’t ask me.”

Models are also under pressure to augment the looks that are the tools of their trade. “Some models get plastic surgery,” Ruddy admits. “Now it’s not so expensive, about US$300-US$700 for a nose job.” Although she would not consider plastic surgery herself, Chandanich knows many who have had work done. “They don’t like their face, they think they look thin, or fat, or something,” she says.

Despite the low pay and potential pitfalls of the industry, young girls and boys are drawn by its apparent glamour. Eoun Sorey, 19, put high school on hold to pursue a career in modelling. “I like being in the celebrity industry,” she says. “I consider myself a celebrity too, because I have been on TV.”

Chandanich, who cites her biggest success so far as appearing in a recent Ambre fashion show attended by the King, says she enjoys being recognised from her appearances in magazines and on TV. “It’s great to know that people know about me,” she says, adding that her dream is to eventually work as a model abroad.

However, both Ruddy and Sapor agree that a lack of confidence and height are likely to keep most Khmer models from breaking onto the international catwalks. There are also cultural pitfalls that have to be negotiated. Sapor tells the story of how she created controversy by once staging a fashion show where some of the models wore bikinis. “In Cambodia you can’t have shows where the girls wear bikinis or underwear,” Ruddy confirms.

Though the modelling industry is one of the few industries In Cambodia unlikely to benefit from development aid, there may nevertheless be more money in store for struggling models. Ruddy notes that the Ministry of Culture recently issued a directive ordering all TV commercials to be made in Cambodia. “That’s why in the future, models will have full-time work and be famous like actors,” he says. Whether it will help them grow any taller is another matter.