Forbidden Runways

isele Bündchen, the famous Brazilian bombshell who is currently one of the world's highest-paid models, never finished high school in order to dedicate herself into what has become an extremely successful modeling career. She regularly appears on covers of magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Rolling Stone and others, and her face is one of the best known in the whole world. She was spotted by talent scouts when she was 14 years old.

Were she still under 18, she would have faced serious trouble in her native Brazil had she attempted to appear during the latest edition of the annual BarraShopping Fashion festival—one of the most important in that country, which recently folded their eighth edition last July 18th in Rio de Janeiro.

According to a recent Brazilian law, anyone under 18 is not eligible of holding a job unless the individual shows evidence that he or she is also registered in school. That law is generally enforced on kids who sell peanuts, work in supermarkets or some other kind of low-skilled labor—something very common in Brazil's impoverished big cities—but one judge in Rio de Janeiro has decided to make the law work for everyone else. His name is Siro Darlan, and he is in charge of enforcing the laws minors are subjected to , such as labor, illegal pornography, infantile prostitution, mandatory education and other matters.

In an unprecedented move, Judge Darlan ordered that all models scheduled to appear during that event would have to show evidence of being of age and to submit proof of being duly in accordance with the new law, which resembles the strict regulations imposed by the New York Department of Labor, which requires permits in order to allow children under sixteen to hold jobs out of the summer. In the U.S., violators can face a huge fine. In Brazil, however, a violation can send offenders to jail.

Mr. Darlan is a very controversial magistrate who generally has no tolerance when it comes to enforcing the law. Earlier this year, he ordered the arrest of a musician with Queens of The Stone Age, who appeared completely naked on stage during the latest edition of the Rock in Rio festival, which was swarmed with teenagers who are not supposed to be exposed to such—ahem—graphic content. Before that, he stopped child actors from appearing on a soap opera unless they complied with the current work-study law requirements.

There is no home schooling in Brazil, so children and teenagers are required to actually attend school, celebrity or not. Despite of the criticism, Judge Darlan defended himself by stating that he was simply enforcing the law. "I think it is absurd that parents have those girls work while neglecting their studies," he said to Isto É magazine. "I think this is the same case of those kids who sell peanuts on the streets. Only children who go to school are eligible to work."

Not many people agreed with his measure. Conceição de Brito, the mother of New York-based 16-year-old Elite model Raica Oliveira, reacted negatively to the judge's decision, which directly affected the young model's plans to participate in the event (she went to Italy for a photo shoot instead). "Mr. Darlan should be concerned with infantile prostitution and drugs on the streets". Jacqueline Biase, a fashion stylist with Salinas Beachwear, shares the same point of view: "It is utterly absurd to pick on models who don't go to school in a country where public education is terrible and where there are so many children on the streets", she stated to O Globo last week.

Hélio Passos, the director of Elite Models in Brazil, thinks that the judge should be more aware of how the fashion industry works: "We are not prostitution agencies. A modeling career is a very brief one, and models need to take advantage of the chance while they can."

During the first night of the event, justice officers sent by Judge Darlan stormed into the dressing rooms to inspect the compliance with the newly imposed order. "They just came in unannounced while we were changing and then started picking on the underage models who were wearing see-through outfits", 16-year-old model Mariana Marcki told daily O Estado de S. Paulo.

During one of the raids, one officer stepped on the foot of Fabiana Semprebom, 16, who was almost unable to participate due to the pain she endured during the raid. She later pressed charges, which were quickly dismissed by Darlan. Even the girls who were of age had to show identification in order to be able to go on the runway. One of them, 19-year old Ana Beatriz Barros, had to send her boyfriend back to their hotel so he could fetch her passport.

"It is common to submit paperwork before fashion shows in order to have minors participate in events such as these", said Pedro Camargo, an attorney with the show's organizers. "This year, however, it seems like Judge Darlan decided to turn his attention to the fashion industry by becoming very picky about it."

"I believe that the judge is merely doing his job," said 17-year-old Daniela Sarahyba, one of the few minor models cleared to appear on the festival. "but he shouldn't have acted in the last minute", referring to the fact that many of the authorizations were turned down only hours before the festival, forcing many designers to make eleventh-hour changes in their casts—and in the clothes, which had previously been fitted on the models.

The models and fashion stylists decided to protest against the red tape in a very unique way: During most of the shows, models walked the runway flashing their IDs or passports. "It was a way to show the public what was going on behind the scenes", said M. Officer's stylist, Carlos Miele, the mind behind the protest.

As they walked down the runway and flashed their cards, the public applauded them, and their pictures were on the pages of newspapers around the world, including many here, for reasons that had nothing to do with fashion. Despite the enormous numbers of detractors, Judge Darlan finds support within the industry in Brazil and in the U.S.

"I am totally supportive of the judge's decision", said Shirley Mallman, the 24-year old Brazilian beauty who recently appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. "School should come first. I only began modeling when I was 18", she told a Brazilian newsmagazine.

Another model who decided to focus on education was Anna Karenina, another model from Brazil. "I only began pursuing a modeling career after I got my B.A." She is often disgusted when she sees so many teenagers neglecting their studies. "Although it might be glamorous for a lucky few, a career in modeling is a very short one, so one needs a backup plan." The stunning 22-year-old holds a degree in English and Portuguese from a university from her native land and works part-time as a language teacher.

"I agree that education comes first", says Misty Bliss, a model booker with Lyons Group Model Management in New York City. "Our company has a policy towards minors—we refuse to work with kids who don't go to school." A former child artist herself, she had to juggle a musical career with her studies, which her parents did not let her let go off. Today she has a degree in physics. "A modeling career only goes so far," Ms. Bliss told me over the phone, "so one day you are going to have to support yourself. What are you going to do when you are, say, 40 without an education?"

Ricardo Salazar, a booker with B1G Models has the same opinion. "Most models, actors and the like live lives that lead them to part-time and freelance jobs, and there isn't much they can do without an education. After all, not all of them are success stories like Giselle and Cindy Crawford. Someday, many will have to go back to the real world and get regular jobs. What are they going to do without at least a high school diploma?"

The fact remains that the fashion industry always seeks very young girls when it comes to a modeling career. Judge Darlan's rulings might at least change the agencies' attitude, as former top model Luíza Brunet stated to a São Paulo newspaper last week: "Judge Darlan's measures might just force modeling agencies to become concerned with models' educations."