NYFW model didn't receive any money for her work

May 2024 · 4 minute read

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This runway model is taking a stand in her stilettos.

Taylor Stewart risked her modeling career to expose the mistreatment she said she and other industry pros experienced during New York Fashion Week — where she didn’t receive a penny working seven shows.

“None of us were getting paid — like I’m talking models, hair and makeup, stylists, event staff,” the 25-year-old stunner told The Post.

“I have no other word than ‘disgusting.’ And I just couldn’t stand to witness so many amazing, hardworking people get taken advantage of anymore — including myself.”

On Day 3 of Fashion Week, which ran from Feb. 9-15, the Canadian native posted a four-part series of TikTok videos titled “New York Fashion Week is a scam.” She detailed deplorable industry standards — where mid-level companies attract talent with promises of “exposure.”

The blonde beauty decided to tell her story on TikTok, where many others shared similar experiences. Tik Tok Taylor Stewart

“They really have a way of convincing you like, ‘Oh, you should do this for us because it’s going to boost your career … like you’re going to get connections out of this,'” she said. “And it’s just simply not true.”

Her posts generated 75,000 views in just 24 hours — and inspired others to share similar experiences.

“One girl … said to me that they didn’t even credit her name when they posted hairstyle photos. So she said, ‘I literally got nothing out of it, spent so much money to go there,'” she explained.

Stewart, 25, who walked in seven shows last fall, decided to step away from Fashion Week this year. Imgae courtesy of Taylor Stewart

Stewart, who now lives in Miami, estimates she spent $4,000 to travel to New York to attend Fashion Week last September, paying for airfare and hotels out of her own pocket.

“Another thing that I was shocked about, too, is we had to go and buy shoes,” she recalled. “They wanted specific shoes to be worn. You had to buy them with your own money.”

Last fall she walked seven runways for SOCIETY Fashion Week, a global fashion show producer based in Midtown West.

“I’m a size 4 to 6, and I kept getting referred to as the bigger model,” she said. “One of the casting people said, ‘You’re just too like healthy looking … it looks cheap … because you don’t have that kind of run-down look.'”

Besides earning no pay, Stewart was also body shamed for being a size 4 to 6. Weston Mosburg

The conditions backstage at the Hall of Mirrors in Midtown West where she walked, were not only dirty but dangerous.

“When I got to the dressing rooms, it was like filthy dirty up huge flights of stairs,” she recalled. “One girl actually fell down the stairs and broke her toe and they still made her walk.”

The 5-foot-10 blonde beauty put in eight- to 10-hour workdays, with most of her time spent waiting for her name to be called.

“They would tell me to show up at nine in the morning and I would sit around until three in the afternoon,” she explained.

A rep for SOCIETY Fashion Week, when asked by The Post about alleged nonpayment, said, “Our goal is to be at the forefront of ensuring everyone is compensated for their time, and continue pushing the entire industry forward.”

Many TikTok users also called out the independent fashion production company hiTechMODA in Midtown for not paying. It did not respond to a request for comment.

The Canadian native, who lives in Miami, was just cast in a short film. Cindy Sung

“I can also confirm this because I went to their casting and they told everyone that there would be no pay, it would all be exposure and photos,” she said.

At this month’s Fashion Week, she was casted in a show for Times Square-based Runway 7 Fashion, which also did not respond to The Post. However, she “ended up choosing not to participate” after witnessing the same mistreatment during its rehearsal.

“I pulled out … I had made up my mind that I was done with all of it,” she said.

Stewart, who was just cast in a short film, said she’s on the older side than most of the models being exploited.

“I’ve met a lot of 17-year-olds, 18-year-olds … ’cause that’s what they look for, right?” she said. “People that don’t really understand what they deserve yet and … very easy to manipulate.”

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