Modeling as a profession was first established in 1853 by Charles Frederick Worth, the “father of haute couture,” when he asked his wife, Marie Vernet Worth, to model the clothes he designed.1 The profession has evolved quite a bit from its humble beginnings, but the definition remains the same:
A model is a person with a role to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows), or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or posing for photography.2
Models help us see the product in action. They show us how those clothes would look in real life on a real person. Well, we say, “Real” but most of us do not look anything like those beautiful models. Much of modeling is getting us to hope or believe that maybe we can look that great.
