Have you ever heard about fashion model life? How is it? According to Ashley Mears, a professor of sociology at Boston University, between 2000 and 2010, 47% of models appearing on catwalks at one of the four major fashion weeks around the world appeared only once, and 20% models were in debt. Also, the modeling industry exploits young and vulnerable workers, the stolen pay, sexual harassment, months without a paycheck, and outrageous fees and expenses that eat away at earnings, and modeling agencies do not care about all of that. While the industry often comes under fire for eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and unwanted sexual advances, are still there.

For example, Coco Rocha. She has walked the runway for every major designer and shot covers, named model of the year by both Elle Magazine and Marie Claire, she was also honored as one of the top 30 models of the decade by French Vogue. But is is all nice like that? No. In 2007, Coco Rocha said she wouldn’t work with Richardson after he photographed her spitting mouthfuls of milk for French Vogue, with the model saying she ‘didn’t feel comfortable’.

Coco Rocha experienced harassment early on in her career when she was forced to change in front of an audience at the age of 15. She says models often have stories of being forced to strip nude, or worse. Many times these are vulnerable young children who are alone and without anyone to advocate for them.

So, while it seems like free clothes, the world with celebrities, the reality is different. It’s fast-paced industry where sexual harassment and predation run across, and even if you are a top model like Coco Rocha you’re still very vulnerable just because you are a woman.