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To The Commissioner on Human Rights in NYC: My name is Erin Williams and I have been a model in New York City since 2002. During my time as a model, I have worked with well known clients, photographers and major agencies. As these recent news events have shown, there is rampant sexual abuse and assault within the fashion industry. When I began to read the stories of other brave models had come forward, I was saddened and horrified. I had always considered myself lucky that I had not been a victim of events like that. But as I began to speak with friends, I realized that I had become so accustomed to behaviors that, anywhere else, would not be acceptable. So while yes, I am one of the lucky ones not to have been physically assaulted, there is certainly a normalization of predatory behavior. From inappropriate sexual comments, to uninvited touch, and pressures from agents, clients and photographers to “do what it takes” is par for the course. A couple of years ago I was shooting in Miami with a photographer who was well known and shoots with all of the major agencies. It was just he and I shooting on the beach and he commented that I had “great tits”. I laughed and thanked him, later thinking how backwards it was that I heard that as a compliment and not the inappropriate sexual comment that it is. When I was about 21 I was sent to test shoot with a photographer that the agency was using to shoot most of their female models. I was under pressure from my agency to get great photos or risk being dropped. His wife was the stylist on the shoot, there was a full team of assistants, retouchers and office management. As we shot he encouraged me to remove my bra because it was “in the way” and then my underwear from underneath my very short dress and another time from under very sheer lingerie. I was uncomfortable but felt pressure to comply, even though it made less sense to retouch any exposed genitalia than a panty line. I later heard from other models that he had entire folders of model’s genitalia and tried to get everyone to take their underwear off, regardless of age. Some of the models shooting with him were quite young. The agencies new about his behavior but continued to send models to him for years. When I was 18 and 19 I shot Abercrombie and Fitch with Bruce Weber. Bruce liked to introduce himself personally to each of the 50 models on the first day. With the female models it was a quick introduction, always in a private room, just you and him. But with the male models, these introductions took longer. I heard from many of the guys that he would have them take their shirt off and close their eyes. He would then place a hand on their bare chest and tell them to relax. Over the course of the shoot the stylists and production people would quietly ask if you were comfortable shooting nude. I never was and said so, even though there was enormous pressure from my agent to make sure “Bruce likes you”. I continually refused to undress, even being told that I was the only one who wouldn’t be topless and it would look weird. The models that didn’t go nude were always cut on day 2, and those who did would stay for additional shoot days. The boys who would socialize with Bruce after the shoots, alone in his hotel room, would get booked for longer with the carrot of a major campaign being dangled in front of them. The commonplace abuses, big and small, are normalized within the unregulated fashion industry. Models have little recourse to report abuse, and even worse it is often well known by agents. We are constantly in fear of losing our income and treated as replaceable. Those who speak up are no longer “bookable”. Awareness may help to hold those in positions of power accountable but to go a step further and provide protection and regulation would be even more beneficial. Sincerely, Erin Williams December 5, 2017 Testimony by Hugo Tillman Attention: Commissioner Malais and the NYC Human Rights Commission I grew up in New York City and work as a photographer. I am writing to testify about sexual harassment and abuse in the fashion industry, which is pervasive and deserves greater scrutiny. In the spring of 1996, I began working for the celebrated fashion photographer Mario Testino as a freelance assistant. During this period, we worked with the likes of American Vogue, Gucci, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren and many other magazines and brands. I was often made to feel uncomfortable on shoots, asked to massage Mario in front of the other assistants, models and fashion editors. He was constantly flirting with me. As a straight male, and as somebody new to the workplace in the fashion context, I did not know how to deal with it. People would just say “oh Mario.” In the autumn of 1996, Mario decided he would like to hire me full-time and wanted me to move to Paris to do so. He took my mother and I to a restaurant in New York City and convinced us that, because my father had died at a young age, he would act as a father figure and mentor me. I moved to Paris to work for him, making the equivalent of just $1,200 dollars a month in Francs. Before getting to Paris, I was to meet Mario in London and attend meetings with him. During the first couple of days on the job, Mario tried to kiss me after dinner. I cannot stress how much this upset me, as it challenged my trust for my new boss and made me question why I had chosen to move across the Atlantic, leaving my girlfriend of two years, our apartment and my family. Although things had been rather uncomfortable all along, I was lead to believe that Mario’s behaviour was normal for him, and he was that way with all of the assistants, models, etc. So I did not worry too much. Mario had been treating me specially compared to the other assistants, which I chalked it up to him being a mentor, as he’d promised my mother and myself in New York. I actually trusted Mario a great deal and looked to him like a father figure at that point. I was 23. Things did not really begin to become unbearable until we went to do a Gucci campaign in Palm Springs. While working in Los Angles the week before, Mario had the assistants drive in a separate van, while he had me drive in the passenger seat of his car with no one else. Again, I thought the special treatment was because of the mentorship. During this trip to California, I was constantly touched and spoken to in a flirtatious way, and made to feel awful in front of everybody else working on the shoots. Upon completion of the jobs, Mario sent everybody back to Paris, and said I was to travel to New York with him to attend meetings. I was happy as I was going to be able to see my girlfriend whom I missed greatly. But when in New York, I was never invited into the meetings, as I had been lead to believe, but rather asked to wait outside. When it was time to go back to Paris, I was told to meet Mario at his hotel. I was asked to roll him a special cigarette, but I wasn’t able to. He got upset and threw me down onto the bed. He got on top of me and pinned my arms down so I could not move. At this point, Mario’s brother, Giovanni Testino came into the room and made his brother get off of me. This experience damaged me. We flew back to Paris and I called my friend who was in London at the time, as I was so shaken up. He came to Paris. I went to Mario’s office, which was empty as it was the weekend. I left a resignation letter. I was incredibly hurt primarily, because he had broken my trust. I flew back to New York a few days later. Soon after, another assistant contacted me saying he had a similar situation and wanted to file a lawsuit against Mario. I declined, although I think I should have done something, as I know his behaviour did not stop with me. I have an old family friend who said he had an even worse experience almost ten years after. Mario wrote me a long letter apologising and arguing that he had a problem and could not control himself. I discussed it at length with my girlfriend, and we accepted that his actions were an illness and not necessarily him. That sounds a little doltish in retrospect. The trajectory of my career and personal life were totally affected by the experience. I wish I had never met him now, and I wish I had spoken out sooner. My life and the lives of those who came after me would have been much better as a result. I even felt bad for quitting my job for some months after until an executive at Gucci came up to me in a restaurant and congratulated me for standing up to Mario and for leaving my job in response to his unacceptable behaviour.

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