After this show, Model group is hereby disssolved. Calamity, Alex, those of you who have given so much, Talena, Jojo and Tsu, the others I am forgetting to mention here, thank you. However, this group cannot be sustained on the work of a few. I simply haven't the strength to keep begging, or to keep picking up after you when you decide (for example!) your virtual prostitution is more important than the role you play here, or you leave more work for me as a result of apathy.
A little background, for those not in the loop...
Last May of this year a modeling competition was formed by a triad of three of Secondlife's fashion divas. This included the design houses of Simone! Design, Calico Creations and silentsparrow. Thirty models were to be selected as finalists and the rewards were
1) Modeling for a year for the designers
2) All new creations from the three designers be given to the 30 finalists for the next year.
3) 12 of the finalists were to be featured in a hard copy fashion calendar, one per month of the year.
The competition lasted a month and involved over 200 models. The first round was a face to face with the designers and their assistants, with a short interview. Those selected moved to Round two, another face to face with more in depth questions asked by each of the designers. Round three was a mystery round. The official presentation stated we would be asked to perform something.
Round three is where the real chaos began.
As this was a modeling competition most of us "ass"umed it would be an ability to modify our shapes on demand, demonstrate our ability to perform a quick change, something along those lines. We all waited, wondering what we would be asked to do. When at last the time came, the ones remaining in round three were gathered and told they were to form groups of 5 and that each group was responsible for developing and holding an event representing either one or all three designers.
The FIRST question on everyones mind involved in this was how were we being judged in this round? As a group instead of individually? Groups formed, fell apart, some participants barely participated, in fact I know of one who never did a thing, was removed from a group, but was still a "winner". Go figure. Of course, the fact that she was a noted "fashion blogger" is probably what kept her ass from being dumped.
For a month the groups planned then ran their events, all of us of course attending each others functions, some dazzling, some too complicated for words, some boring, it ran the gamut. But, in all we brought our friends and promoted the designers grid wide, seeking out the SecondLife paparazzi to cover these venues.
Then at last at the end of June we were told the designers were gathering and making their decisions, we waited.
An announcement came to the group that the decisions were made. To watch our group tags to see if were in that top 30. Low and behold, yours truly was graced with the "Super Role Model" tag. As time went by we soon discovered we ALL were given the tag, no one was eliminated. 62 models.
More confusion ensued, the Simone Stern announced that we were all so lovely and capable she could not make a decision to eliminate any of us. She said she knew that there were a lot of us and assured us that she would keep us all working.
Working. The KEY word here. Remember it.
Classes were formed to teach shape modification for photo shoot and catwalk modeling as well as catwalk classes. Classes were referred to as "boot camps".
Photo shoots began as well as preparing for the first catwalk show. All was right with the world of the Super Role Models.
Then one day an annoucement comes forth, that teams are being organized. These were an assortment of marketing teams which included art, media, web (blog/site), Virtual Angels (Simone Stern's developed charity), coordinators of the models, events, etc. We were once again told to group, apply to TWO of the above assortment of groups. Once done, we were asked to develop "in store" events for the designers.
The nightmare begins. Within two weeks the groups were dropped and reformed. A number of the models who were team leaders became disgruntled and left the SRM group when they found their teams had been eliminated without so much as a word to them about this beforehand.
Fashion shows and events were being coordinated constantly. There would be as many as 10 events during any given week. And we were all EXPECTED to attend them all.
But all was not well in the land of smoke and mirrors. One day an annoucements lands that the houses of Calico Creations and silentsparrow are no longer involved in the great modeling adventure. We were all taken aback by this announcement.
Simone Stern quickly announced it was business as usual but now we would only be concentrating on her line and that of her charity, Virtual Angels. She said she would make sure we were all kept *working* even if she had to farm us out to "lesser" designers. By the way, this did not happen, in fact, during one of her many tirades Simone informed us she did not want to see any of us walking the catwalk wearing another designers clothing or our pictures gracing any photo shoots of clothing that was not hers. Another note here, no where in the rules or guidelines for the competition did we agree to "exclusivity" to these designers.
We were also informed we were not allowed to wear the designs of Calico Creations and silentsparrow when particpating in any Simone Stern events or within her store.
Everyone wondered what was going to happen with perks - the new creations to be given to the models over the next year. I decided to approach Simone on the subject and she said yes, the other designers were obligated to fulfill their commitment to the finalists, but she could not control that. I asked if it was alright to speak to them about it and she was okay with that. So I approached both and both said they would of course fulfill their commitment to the models.
Calico Creations and silentsparrow organized a joint group for the models for easy distribution of the new releases as they came out and made good on their promise. I helped them get the models listed into the group and as a result I was removed from my role as modeling instructor by another Simone coordinator. Simone did not inform me of this herself. I thought, fine, that is 20 hours of gaming time I can once again use for "playing the game".
More focus began to be put on establishing regular weekly venues to be held within the confines of the Simone! Design store which ran the gamut from the game Deal or Dare to various dance venues such as "Under the Sea", Salasa Night, Furry dances, etc., etc. All designed to draw people to the store as well as the models. Driving up the traffic numbers for the store.
Unfortunately, the models were the only ones attending these events, for the most part. Occassionaly a shopper would straggle by and get caught up in the beckoning web of welcomes from the models and linger for awhile. Usually though, it was the models, grinding away on a dance ball. Over time, it ended up being roughly the same 5 or 6 models in attendance, the rest not bothering to attend or popping in for 2 minutes before "real life" called them away.
Simone had to turned us into unpaid campers. In fact worse, it was the time and effort put into each event PLUS the event itself for the models. Simone found camp chairs beneath the dignaity of her store, but obviously slave labor was okay. Warnings , threats and tantrums spewed forth from Simone on a regular basis, usually formulated in the wee hours of the morning, assaulting the group as they stumbled into the game bleary eyed in the morning. Everyone "hopping to" to at least give the appearance of being busy or some attempting to keep below the radar and never being seen.
One notable occurrance during this shake up time, a model approached her team and then Simone, informing each that she would be unavailable for the next couple of weeks because of RL family obligations related to business AND her distraction and worry over a friend recently diagnosed with cancer who was going into surgery.
Result, dropped from the group. After a few days of thinking about it, she approached Simone one night on the floor of the store, asking her why she would do such a thing. Simone, being true to form, called her a "Stupid TWAT", told her to "Shut the fuck up" and booted her from the sim, banned her from the sim, and removed her from the Virtual Angels group as well as her own group for announcing her designs.
Eventually the modeling calls ceased, the designs kept coming, we were not getting them from Simone anymore, but Calico Creations and silentsparrow were good to their word and distributing theirs to the group.
All activity ceased for 2 weeks as Simone held her quarterly super yard sale. People got to enjoy playing the game again during this time. After the sale, Simone issued warnings and threats about the group getting back into their activities or they would be booted.
Low and behold, suddenly the Virtual Angels group takes a hit, Simone demanding that more time be spent on this, so a bustle of activity begins planning an auction, and weekly dances, raking in some big Linden dollars for this "undeclared" charity. I offer free site hosting for the charity as well as assist on graphic design work for the events. All of us on the VA team are told we must EACH come up with THREE MAJOR events and ONE WEEKLY event and issued a notecard detailing everything we are responsible for from inception, holding, accounting, publicity and the way we are to report on it prior to and after the functions.
Six weeks has gone by, none of the new designs from Simone! Design have been distributed to the group even though the core group was still working on projects for her. In fact, the show before last that we did, we had to BUY the clothing we were assigned to wear for the runway. Simone as it turned out was unavailable that day due to an illness, but like troopers, we managed to pull off the show without more than a slight time delay. Eventually, we all got reimbursed for the items, but really... this is NOT how it works for ANY modeling service.
In all, the past 4 or so months involved with the Super Role Model group, has been a trying experience for all involved. Sure there were the good times when there were photo shoots and fashion shows. The things models DO and do well. But there was also the back biting, the rumors that ran rampant, the forced labor, the disorganized way things were handled 90% of the time, the nearly daily wee hour of the night rantings of Simone, the onus of ejection lingering over the heads of all.
I got involved with this because I wanted to model, to learn, to enhance my gaming experience. I warrant that if you ask any other of the group they will tell you pretty much the same thing.
Simone wanted people to promote her store 24/7 without regard for any other in game or real life activity these models might have. If that real life or gaming experience interfered with your time able to be spent on the promotion of Simone! Design or Virtual Angels, you were history.
Simone exploited 62 models.
Simone has not lived up to her commitment of the competition.
Simone kept 62 models from actively *working* in their field.
Simone turned her models into unpaid store campers.
Simone used the models for store promotion ideas, web work, writing, photography and more without payment.
Simone is raising $L to convert to real cash to open a real life design house and store, with the labor of all these unpaid models that she just threw "out of work".
At the beginning of the competition, those 200+ models BOUGHT clothing, usually 3 or more outfits each, for their participation in the competition since we were informed "off the cuff" by Simone, that anyone trying for one of the coveted spots had better not being wearing someone else's designs.
For 4+ months 62 models worked, some more than others, at promoting the store. For almost half of that they have seen no perks from Simone.
Read above, do the math.
I have left out a LOT of details, the friendships lost, the arguments with RL loved ones over time committed to these projects, the list goes on and on, but this was meant to be a book, merely an expose' on how a top designer managed to dupe the fashion world for self promotion.
Make of it what you will. Many are actually relieved it is finally over, others are dazed and confused, and even a few are still managing to remain loyal.
It's your game time. Enjoy it!
14 comments:
Mairead, tell the truth.
"I attended the last show by SImone at the OnRez Island and distributed this note and stood by the runway. I said nothing. I was waiting for the show to end to speak to her. Suddenly I was unceremoniously ejected and banned from the sim."
Bullshit, I passed the card *you gave me*, a complete stranger, on to a model friend who gave it to Simone, THEN you were ejected. Tacky behavior to say the least, if you were waiting to speak to her, why were you badmouthing her beforehand?
So wait. You created this blog to start drama? Don't you have better things to do with your time in SL?
I met Simone in real life and she's a very savvy businesswoman. She is no holds barred and gets things done. The Electric Sheep would not keep her if she was such a monster. She has my stamp of approval.
I beg to differ. Simone holds no holds barred, and she's a bitch on top of it.
Is the Electric Sheep thing supposed to impress us? Sorry, try again.
I can totally see this happen from Simone.
You are dead on, Mairead. I wish I had known about the Calico/silentsparrow group because I would have loved to have their new releases too! That was actually the part of the prize I was the most excited about! Simone has amazing texturing on her clothes but they seem to be about a year behind the better designers in Second Life. There are small differences that keep her behind the best designers. The first is the total lack of items coming on more than one layer. When one buys a 100L tank top, one expects it to be sold on all three possible layers. The second is the almost total lack of prim attachments to accent clothing. When a top has a large bow at the neck, a well textured bow photoshopped on the shirt is standard for her and she does it well, but most designers today would also include a layer that had no pre-printed bow and an attachment to add to the 3D look of reality to the clothing.
That show that Simone slept through was a nightmare. Luckily, the announcer happened to know that the clothes were the show were actually already available for sale and right were they were in the store! It would have been easy to just cancel the thing in panic, but she kept things together and didn't let on to the bloggers the extent of the problem.
I have to admit that it's a relief that it's over, but as a whole, we really were an amazing group of people! Some of the same people that Simone called out as doing a wonderful job were also the same people she complained the most about to other group members (not counting Telana-- an amazingly talented graphic artist that I never heard Simone bad mouth).
There really were an amazing group of people that were "Simone Super Role Models;" this counts some of the people that knew to get out early on. If you are a designer looking for a person to represent your clothing line or someone to help you with a project, in most cases a former Super Role Model would be an excellent person to select.
I'm having a hard time choking down this story. It seems that there's a real discrepancy here... and that maybe, on first glance, your story is believable but on further mulling, your story is complex but holds no weight.
Do us a favor, and don't get your buddies to link this crap into the *news* feed. I'm agreeing with moo on this.
Tenshi,
Where on earth is this discrepancy you are talking about?
Auwch. That so sucks. I don't know neither of you well, but if she just ended the group without prior notice, well, that might just say enough.
Any chance at getting modelling jobs with the other two designers?
Tenshi, go back to your hole. You have no room to even talk about how articles are biased and one sided. Your articles are nothing but 100% attack, and when they aren't, they are yawners.
Seriously, you have about as much fashion sense as a mole. Your failed business(es) are a testament to that.
I went through round 2 of the contest. I saw 2 things that I couldn't live with that were not disclosed from the beginning.
One, Wearing Simone! exclusively all the time and two, expected to be at all and promote all Simone's events. I have no problem with that, but it was the bait and switch and that soured me on Simone first hand. I feel sick seeing all those people being used the way they were, pouring their heart and souls out in round 3...but I am now very glad I dropped out. Then I find out no one has received anything from Simone!! How hard is it for her to drop a few folders on you after you all did so much work for her? She is completely delusional and self-absorbed and hits the MegaBitch status.
One of the things that astounded me was when Simone told us not to spend money buying things for the contest out one side of her mouth and then mocking people publicly that didn't have 100% of her designs on out the other side of her mouth. What the hell??
Tenshi, shut the fuck up. You consistently talk out your ass while your lips are moving. You don't know what the hell you're even commenting on, you weren't there.
Why I comment anonymously? I have a lot to lose unlike you, Tenshi. It's easy for you to trash businesses when you have nothing worth trashing. And all those asses you kiss? You are grade A ripe fodder-rot for their mocking and they do it all the time behind your back.
Mairead, good for you, girl. I'm glad you posted this. All the best to whatever you decide to do in Second Life.
Tenshi lives in a rather nice hole, it has a seaside view :D
Serously guys find a new person to pick on, its hardly a hot topic or orginal. Mainly becuase you wont use your names! Cowardy custerd much?
As for the simone issue i think the models by the sounds of it were defiantly exploted and as an SL designer i think its very sad but unfortunaly the "modeling" world doesnt have alot of respect. I know alot of models who were underpayed and also alot of models who are of an awful standred.
I'm the person from the forth comment.
Full disclosure on something is needed. It isn't true that we got nothing, but it is interesting that there was a huge release right after the group was disbanded. Simone was also careful to do a huge release of almost every color of sculpy pumps in two heel heights right before the contest 'winners' were announced, I assume so she could justify not giving them away.
1) We each got a pair of the big purple boots right after the contest ended (released at the same time the shoes were).
2) Models in the fashion shows received black or white (depending on the show) sculpy pumps with a copyable version of the "Monroe" walk. It's a VERY nice walk, so it's worth going into the shoe heal to take a copies to use in your personal AO. Since the walk is a Simone exclusive, it might be one of the most valuable items we received.
3) There was a very large collection of casual wear that included all of the dragon jeans and shirts. This was not all the casual items and jeans she released at this time-- I'd guess about 2/3 of it.
4) Right before the bridal shows, since Simone had disallowed hair from Calico, she made some sort of deal to get us all a great deal of hair from Calla. There were 4 or 5 colors of about 8 styles I believe.
5) After the bridal shows we received all 20 wedding dresses.
6) We received her whole "Simone Means Business" line.
7) The last items we received that I am aware of was a huge collection of fedora hats.
*) As a well deserved extra, it is my understanding that the male avatars did get all of the new male line. I'm very happy that they got something out of this!
Good business people document what they do. Can anyone argue with that statement? The last thing in writing was a written agreement to provide certain consideration for making it to the final level. She is the one that decided to select and provide 'employment' for a larger group than what was panned, but that was the only change that was made to the original compensation package. Part of that consideration was every single release for the next year. There was no small print stating that the business owner had the right to disband the group at any time and no longer live up to her end of the agreement.
I realize things can get muddled the more people discuss them, but I did say in my notecard - and published that here -- that the models had not been paid for the past 6 weeks, NOT that they had never received anything. Just wanted to reinterate that.
Simone distributed when it suit her.
If we wish to be technical about it, all 90 models were kept from round 3 and considered winners, models Simone swore she would keep working as models (not unpaid campers and promoters).
Nowhere in the presentation does it state that being dropped from the Super Role Models eliminates the designers obligations to provide them with the new releases for the full year.
They won, she said they all won, all 90 of them, so they are entitled to the advertised winnings.
As an ex model, I felt used and misled about the whole situation. We did get a bunch of free things, shoes, those fetish boots, casual wear, business wear, wedding gowns and hair from calico and calla. But giving free things away doesn't give you the right to use people who applied to be models, not co-ordinate and host events, make your website, or do your graphics. That's another job completely. I am glad I left.
What a bitch! But I would expect nothing less from Simone Stern. You try to help the witch and she stabs you in the back in return. I've spoken to a few models who participated in this fiasco and I feel sorry for them. Where does Simone get off having her panties in a wad and treating people like that?
I attempted to help her and a few other designers many months ago when a scam artist was putting fake clothes in boxes and using real designer photos to sell said clothes at yard sales. My reward for this you ask? Me showing up at Simone's store to buy some clothes and then being booted & banned.
No worries though... Halloween is just around the corner, it's Simone's holiday to shine as wicked witch of SL. Kudos those designers who kept up their end of the bargain :))
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