BOOKS
Models expose industry’s seamy side in 3 new books
Fashion models aren’t prized for their braininess — or their literary pursuits. But that hasn’t stopped this genetically blessed crowd from expanding its brand with tell-alls, novels and self-help books. Iman and Cindy Crawford have makeup guides, Christy Turlington put out a book on yoga, and reality TV queen Janice Dickenson has spilled three tomes on her sordid, affair-strewn life.
Now three more models — two marquee names from the ’80s and one modern-day ingenue — are promising juicy tales of triumph and humiliation inside the chaotic modeling industry. Here’s how they measure up.
“This Year’s Model” By Carol Alt, Avon A, $13.95
The hype: Fictional roman a clef for teens and twentysomethings about breaking into the rough-and-tumble modeling world.
The reality: True to billing. Follows the lightning-fast ascent of a teen discovered by a photographer at her waitressing job.
The scribe: Cat-eyed ’80s super-model- turned-raw food fanatic most famous for gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1982 Swimsuit Issue.
Why she wrote it: “To teach without someone realizing they are being taught.”
Literary prowess: Acceptable, despite irritating inner-dialogue. (“Who knew designers were doing vodka now?”)
Its charms: Realistic fashion world observations — Teen Vogue editor Amy Astley dresses like a schoolgirl; designer Randolph Duke attempts a comeback with cowboy pants and bolero vests.
Its defects: Sleazy guys. Weight-watching model bookers. Cocaine-pushing British rock stars.
Make-it moment: Corn-fed protagonist becomes favorite face of fictional uber-designer after jumping like a frog to prove she can “propel” clothes on the runway.
Meltdown moment: Stranded at a Hamptons estate crawling with lecherous modelizers, she unwittingly snarfs down hash brownies.
Lessons learned: Avoid photographers looking to “build their book” and geriatric Italian playboys bearing diamond tennis bracelets. Oh, and stop eating.
Bottom line: “The Devil Wears Prada” of the modeling industry — a quick, guilty-pleasure read bound to score big with the “America’s Next Top Model” crowd.
Where she is now: On Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and in a relationship with a Russian ice hockey player 13 years her junior.
“Sex, Love and Fashion”
By Bruce Hulse, Harmony Books, $23.95
The hype: Tell-all memoir from one of the “top 10 male models of all time.”
The reality: Exhaustively detailed chronicle (it has an index!) of a relative unknown.
The scribe: An ’80s model more famous for bedding supermodels — Andie MacDowell, Paulina Porizkova, Elle Macpherson, Tatjana Patitz — than gracing the cover of GQ.
Why he wrote it: “To talk about my life in the wild and exciting fashion world and also to explore my journey to find true love and happiness.”
Literary prowess: Cliche central. “I let the sea wash over me like a baptism.”
Its charms: Supermodel dirt. A tryst with Paulina Porizkova was “like a professional wrestling match.” Trying to remain, um, calm, when Elle Macpherson stripped down was challenging.
Its defects: Chapters devoted to his premodel life are as titillating as a tax appointment.
Make-it moment: Hulse’s girlfriend urges him to shop test photos around. Vogue Hommes bites, and soon he’s a face for Calvin Klein and Levi’s.
Meltdown moment: Drinking four beers and falling asleep in the sun during a Bruce Weber photo shoot, then facing the Weber wrath.
Lesson learned: It takes a hunk to land a supermodel.
Bottom line: Twice as long as it needs to be, but the gossip factor — Naomi Campbell was once sweet and innocent? — will keep fashion fiends turning pages.
Where he is now: Living in Southern California with a wife and two kids, modeling occasionally, working as a photographer and fitness consultant.
“Model”
By Cheryl Diamond, Simon Pulse, $23.95
The hype: The “triumphant rise, disastrous fall and comeback” of a teen model.
The reality: Job-by-job story of a street-savvy young woman navigating New York’s cutthroat modeling world.
The scribe: One of a million worker-bee models earning her keep working hair trade shows, catalog jobs and small-time advertising gigs.
Why she wrote it: “Because modeling really is bizarre.”
Literary prowess: Written for teens, with none of the juicy stuff about modeling’s real pitfalls.
Its charms: An alien could read this and start going on go-sees. The industry is explained ad nauseam. (“Many agencies don’t send a booker out to look at models, relying instead on the impeccable judgment of a slightly daffy receptionist.”)
Its defects: Crazy slow at times — but we’re not 14 and Agyness Deyn-obsessed.
Make-it moment: None yet; Diamond’s first big gig was in Dance magazine.
Meltdown moment: Spending the night in a New Jersey diner after getting kicked out of a crummy hotel when money wired from her parents doesn’t come through. And of course, there’s a callback in Manhattan the next morning.
Lessons learned: When your long blond hair is your fortune, don’t let anyone dye it tangerine orange.
Bottom line: A decent read if you’re curious about life as a model when you’re not Gisele Bundchen.
Where she is now: Pounding New York pavement in stilettos as a working model.
