At Least One Model Lied About Her Age To Walk At New York Fashion Week

by Julia Rubin | 6:27 pm, September 22nd, 2011

Just as we expected, at least one underage model lied about her age in order to walk in some of New York Fashion Week‘s biggest shows. 15-year-old Valerija Sestic managed to dupe over a dozen designers including Prabal Gurung and Oscar de la Renta, and now she’s being called out.

Yes, she made quite a splash with designers and editors alike, despite the CFDA strongly advising against the casting of models younger than 16. According to the Wall Street Journal, Sestic was discovered in April and signed to Women Management shortly after. Women Management knew Sestic was underage, and had her get cast by Rodarte, Donna Karan, and more anyway. Explained Women Management president Dejan Markovic: “It is true. She is 15. This is never going to happen again from our company. I take full responsibility.”

The thing is we’re sure she wasn’t the only one, and we’re sure this will happen again. And again.

[WSJ]

CFDA New York Fashion Week underage model Valerija Sestic