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British Vogue signs 10-point “model protection code”

Modelling may appear to be a glamorous profession, but British models' union Equity is claiming working conditions, instead, have included "treatment of the kind which would be wholly unacceptable in any other profession."

While it may seem obvious to most of us, apparently not every fashion client understands that even pretty skinny people need bathroom breaks.

British Vogue is working with Equity to remedy this.

The fashion authority just signed a new "10-point model protection code" designed to improve working conditions. No more 18-hour days or mandatory nude shots.

Under the new guidelines, models' working days will be limited to 10 hours. They will be given mandatory breaks — at least one every five hours — adequate meals, changing rooms and transportation. Nudity will be agreed upon in advance. Models younger than 16 will not be permitted to represent adult models.

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The code also states that no model should be asked to do anything "dangerous, degrading, unprofessional or demeaning."

Download the entire agreement here.

It should be noted that the practical policing of these rules, like who will be enforcing the rules on a larger scale, has yet to be outlined.

Model Sarah Ziff considers the model protection code, the first of its kind among fashion magazines, to be a much-needed one:

"Fundamentally, the code insists on basic conditions of employment that most other workers take for granted – in particular, that they be paid within a reasonable time frame for their work, be reimbursed for travel to and from jobs on location, and receive workplace insurance," she writes in a piece for the Guardian. "These protections may sound like common sense, but in the modelling industry, unfortunately, they are more the exception than the rule."

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"I have experienced the pitfalls of working in an unregulated business. As someone who, on occasion, has worked 20-hour days and been admonished for so much as asking to use the toilet, the Equity and Vogue code represents a welcome change," she adds.

Equity hopes other brands and media outlets will quickly follow British Vogue's lead.

"It is important to remember that this code applies only to photo shoots for Vogue, and does not include that most tiring of times — the major Fashion Weeks. But Vogue's Alexandra Shulman says she has adopted this policy in hopes that it will soon become the industry-wide standard, and indeed it should," writes Refinery29's Vanessa Golembewski.

"Our support of the Equity code reinforces our continued commitment to set the benchmark for this important industry issue. We're very pleased that Equity is using its position in such a positive way," Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, tells the Independent.

Meal breaks, workplace insurance and advance notice of nudity are hardly diva requests. Models are people, too. Let them eat lunch.