Catwalk casting agent James Scully lifts the lid on model abuse at Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week kicked off yesterday, the last leg of a mammoth month of shows around the world that will see Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton and more present their autumn collections.But day one of the event was an eye-opener for many, after catwalk casting agent James Scully accused some designer brands of abusing models during selection processes for shows.

At a weekend casting for the Balenciaga show, due to take place on Sunday 5th March, Scully describes ???sadistic and cruel??? treatment from the casting directors Maida Gregori Boina and Rami Fernandes, whom he describes as ???serial abusers???.

???They made over 150 girls wait in a stairwell [and] told them they would have to stay over 3 hours to be seen and not to leave,???Scully revealed on Instagram.???In their usual fashion they shut the door went to lunch and turned off the lights, to the stairs leaving every girl with only the lights of their phones to see.Not only was this sadistic and cruel it was dangerous and left more than a few of the girls I spoke with traumatized.???

Scully???s post (which can be read in full below) also accused Lanvin of distributing a ???mandate??? that they did not want to be presented with models of colour to consider for inclusion in their show- something that the brand strenuously denied this morning, andthey delivered a show featuring women of various races only this afternoon.

The Balenciaga claims, however, clearly did have some substance, as the company???s bosses took swift action to release a statement and fire the casting agents in question this morning.

???On Sunday, February 26th Balenciaga took notice of issues with the model castings carried out on that day,??? said a representative.???The house reacted immediately, making radical changes to the casting process, including discontinuing the relationship with the current casting agency.Additionally, Balenciaga sent a written apology to the agencies of the models who were affected by this specific situation, asking them to share it with them.Balenciaga condemns this incident and will continue to be deeply committed to ensure the most respectful working conditions for the models.???

It was also suggested that another big house had been trying to hire 15 year-old models for their show, despite them being underage by law, although it has not yet been made clear which brand is being referred to.

Helena Christensen, Joan Smalls and Hilary Rhoda were among the supermodel names to thank Scully for drawing the world???s attention to what was going on.As a casting director who has been at the top of his game in the US for decades, Scully has expressed a commitment to be a ???voice for any models, agents or all who see things wrong with this business.???

???Thank you for sharing!??? wrote Christensen in the comments box below his post.???People can be such scumbags, selfish, arrogant and pathetic.Keep sharing, girls, and keep raising awareness @JamesPScully.???

Antoine Arnault, who is the son of LVMH Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault and whose partner is the supermodel Natalia Vodianova, also commented, asking ???If you hear of anything like this happening at our houses, please contact me directly.???

Scully"s statement comes at a time when the fashion industry is under increasing scrutiny both from insiders and consumers demanding more diversity and a responsibilty towards models who are often young and vulnerable.

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