This week, the New York State Legislature passed new labor laws intended to protect models under the age of 18 (cue Ondria Hardin, Thairine Garcia, et al.). Set to be signed in a few weeks, the laws will prohibit underage models from working past midnight on school nights or returning to work less than twelve hours after they’ve left. It also requires that catwalkers younger than sixteen be placed under the supervision of a “responsible person.” “It will be crazy difficult,” Susan Scafidi, academic director of Fordham’s Fashion Law Institute, told WWD. If fashion houses break the new laws, they’ll be fined $1,000 for the first violation—or about one-sixth the price of a sequined Marc Jacobs gown.
