Belgian model Florian Van Bael was fired from Bruce Weber’s Abercrombie & Fitch catalog shoot in the Hamptons for — wait for it, wait for it — taking a bite of a croissant. Had he made it all the way through, he would’ve earned a pittance: of the 30 models on set, the men earn $1,500 for the seven-day shoot; women grab $2,500. Van Bael’s own agent sided with Team Weber: “I don’t think it’s a question about coffee or croissant, it’s just a question of respect during an important job.” To which I say: While models, especially the barely clothed type A&F uses, of course have to look amazing, who the hell puts out croissants at craft services? That’s just mean to the human hangars.
Yeah, don’t feed this guy:
DR
And they wonder why people have body image issues….
Sean
He is so fat.
Nelly
OH MY STARS THIS BOY IS F’IN ADORABLE.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
From what I’ve seen, Bruce Weber is a fat friggin’ slob. The idea that a pig like Weber, would be telling others what they may, or may not eat, is quite rich.
The model was probably fired because he wouldn’t eat meat–Weber’s, to be exact.
Mike L.
Where the hell does he come off telling this guy not to even have a bite of delicious croissants, when He (Bruce Weber) is a fat sack of shit.
(However talented he may be, what he did is still deplorable).
Fitz
No matter what job you are doing, there are rules.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
C’mon they did him a huge favor by staging an intervention so early in his inevitable downward spiral into addiction……
It is well documented that croissants are a gateway snack towards crosiantwiches…… :p
Black Pegasus
He’s got an ugly face!
He should take better care of that body since it’s all he’s got.
peace lite
He’s as gross as that disgustingly fat pig Austin on A List. Why stye did he come from?
Jack E. Jett
I don’t know how this boy walks with all the excessive weight.
Tallest
yuck, he looks emaciated, somebody get the poor boy a croissant!
On a side note I find models, fashion, and model/fashion photographers useless.
Enron
Seriously, there is something in the water in Europe or parents there just have perfect genes. I would love to see what his mom and dad look like because he is darn perfect. Perfect face, perfect strong jaw line, angelic eyes, cute nose, plump pink lips. Imagine his side profile.
hephaestion
Whoever this Bruce Weber guy is, from this incident I now know that he is a fool.
Oh boy
This kid is adorable. Love the gentle blue eyes.
Gorbeh
Awww, I would totally marry this guy.
Then maybe teach Weber not to f*** with him!
iDavid
Wierd—–seems there are no biz savvies in these comments. Weber shoots the pix, he can be as fat as he wants. You either do what the boss says or take a hike. The end
alan brickman
Please publish a pic of Bruce Weber..that guy loves the carbs for sure..a typical self loathing queer….
badlydrawnbear
Umm, I believe it was the Abercrombie Advertising people who threw the model out not the photographer, Weber.
“the models were busy having their drinking, eating and workout habits watched by eagle-eyed reps from the supervising ad agency, Shahid and Co. ”
http://www.styleite.com/media/abercrombie-photo-shoot/
The terms of the shoot are dictated by the client, Abercrombie, not Weber.
It’s typically up to the Advertiser and the Ad Agency to do castings the photographer is hired separately and typical not involved in selecting the models. It is possible that a photographer could ask for a model to be dismissed from a shoot but it would typically be for some inability to perform in front of the camera, not something that was going on behind the camera.
alan brickman
Floriah will survive he’s hawt!!
alan brickman
Probalby fired because he wouldn’t let Bruce suck his …. spirit…
jeff r
@BadlyDrawnBear: I beg to differ. The modeling agencies and advertising agencies defer to Bruce Weber – he is one of the most powerful “kingmakers”/forces in the industry. Allegedly he often chooses the models for the campaigns that he shoots and often undercuts the agencies’ fees and the models’ standard rates. The agencies defer because in the long run it will benefit them economically and professionally. Ask anyone in the Industry who is willing to discuss it with you off the record. The average DAY RATE for a male model is ostensibly $1,500.-$2,500.00 but times are tough. For female models it quite often starts at $2,500.00. The operative word is DAY RATE – per day, not an aggregate of seven days. Only a Bruce Webber, a Mario Testino, a Karl Lagerfeld or a few others can get away with offering bargain basement rates and impose draconian conditions on models because appearing in a campaign shot/promoted by them can make or break a model’s career. That’s why the agent took his side and essentially kissed his or the client’s respective asses. Ironic since a modeling agency ostensibly represents the model, not the client or the photographer. Yet both the model and the client pay the agency a commission! How does one say “Conflict of interest?!?” Bruce Weber has made the careers of many models. Often for altruistic motives. He’s also tried to fire at least one model from a campaign for spurious reasons – I’m referring to one Latin model who continued to do extremely well and eventually ended up in the Soaps. Some models love him, others not so much. The point is that he has incredible power in the Industry and the agents and clients aren’t about to question him in the current economic climate. The agencies are not about to question the client’s dictates either. It’s a dirty business. Horrible allegations have been directed at other noted photographers and they continue to be supported by very powerful clients, Anna Wintour, “French Vogue,” et al. Read the archives of “Jezebel.” Nothing about this post surprises me – I’m actually surprised that something similar hasn’t surface years ago.
Best,
Jeff R
Ken S
@Fitz: “No matter what job you are doing, there are rules.”
And in a number of countries on Earth “the rules” say you can’t be gay, and that it’s punishable by death.
This might sound like a facetious retort but it’s meant to demonstrate a critical difference in essential views of “the rules.” According to one view, the rules are the rules and everyone must follow them without question, because they’re the rules.
According to another– one that a lot of us pesky liberal humanist types are fond of– the rules are not objective ‘things’ independent of people; while there are plenty of ‘good’ rules, they’re all still arbitrary. Person A writes them– whether to benignly serve the common good or to exploit them and enrich himself–, Person B pledges to uphold/enforce them, and Persons C thru Y follow them without question, because they’re either afraid of having to think for themselves about the reasonable limitations of behaviour or because they’re scared of Person B. In either case, the rules have force because the masses submit themselves to them, giving up their moral autonomy. Then there’s Person Z who looks at the rulebook and says “holy shit, how did that get so *thick?* Why do these assholes think we need so many restrictions? And what are the odds they’re following them all to the letter themselves? Can we hold a referendum on this rulebook, maybe tear out a few unnecessary pages?”
Rules are good when they serve a rational interest. When they’re just written to inflate the authority (or the ego) of the person(s) writing them, they’re tyrannical. And firing a model who looks the way you want them to look because they sinned against your “thou shalt not take one fuckin’ bite of food or sip of drink until I give you permission” commandment… sounds pretty egotistical and tyrannical. Maybe not “we should rise up as one to slay him and mount his head on a pike” tyrannical, but it’s still telling.
Cam
Thank you to that modling shoot for now proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that their fostering of annorexia is not passive, it is actually incredibly active. On a 13 hour shoot you are setting out food and denying the models any of it for the entire time.
Why isn’t the, um, EXTREALY ROUTOND Webber bveing investigated for such a questionable working environment?
DR
@Fitz: So we allow the modeling industry to foster anorexia and other body image issues because a male model needed some energy to get through a shoot? How can you justify that eith such a flippant comment? Not like this kid will gain ten pounds from taking a bite out of a croissant.
Davey Fan
Do a google images search for “Bruce Weber Martha Stewart” and you’ll seea photo of the fat pig photographer.
SG
@Jeff R: GREAT post!
Florian is just perfect. The proportions, the face, everything.
Ravi
Weber wanted the croissant for himself. THAT was the issue.
Dingey
Do he have a big dick?
AL
@iDavid:
There are consequences to your actions, no matter how important you may be. If you treat people like shit, people are going to spread the word that you’re an asshole and you find yourself with fewer customers down the road.
jeff r
@AL: I agree with you that there should be consequences for one’s bad actions but unfortunately that’s not the case in modeling. Read “Jezebel’s” archives about the allegations surrounding Terry Richardson. He’s more successful than ever. Controversy arising from treating people like shit, allegedly exploiting young girls, etc. does not appear to hurt those in Fashion. Young men and women are manipulated, encouraged to develop eating disorders, to do anything to make their dream a reality and the agencies, et al., obviously don’t care. It’s business. There are tons of horrible rumors surrounding many of the top photographers, including Webber and Richardson – rumors that have never been proven in a court of law and may or may not be true – but they exist and the old adage of “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” might hold some merit. As I said, it’s a dirty business.
Go online (Male Model Retro) and The Archives of Peter Marlowe and check out the guys and girls from the 70’s,80’s and 90’s. Isn’t it odd that many of today’s young male models are hairless gannymedes? The women of the 70’s and 80’s (Rene Russo, Tara Shannon, Janice Dickenson, Gia, Christie Brinkley) and the Supermodels of the late 80’s and 90’s were not malnourished sacks of bones. Odd that they became recognizable brands, no? Giselle, Andres Segura, Gabriel Aubry and David Gandy are the exceptions to the current rule. They are recognizable names unlike their twiglet peers. Isn’t it a rather odd turn of events? Then you have the fact that people of color – Hispanics, Blacks, Exotics, Asians, et al., are not exactly celebrated by Fashion. The last time I checked we were a multi-cultural society.
Best,
Jeff R
jeff r
Oooops! I forgot to mention the most ironic fact surrounding this incident. Florian’s agency and his agents and bookers have one of the best reputations in NYC for being supportive and protective of their models, especially their closeted gay models (it’s not a good idea to be an out gay man if you want to have a successful modeling career), which further illustrates the power of a kingmaker like Weber and the type of rampant manipulation that is rife in the Industry.
Best,
Jeff R
Cam
@jeff r:
You make a good point, origionally the Heroine chic look and the Waifs came about because designers like Calvin Klein and others didn’t want famous models anymore because their prices were too high. They wanted a bunch of interchangeable bodies. It backfired somewhat because Kate Moss came out of that group and became very expensive.
But that is a huge issue. If they keep the models skinny and not over sexual looking by waxing them all down. They are still attractive to a certain extent but not enough to develop a “Brand”.
They said the price for the female models on the shoot was $2,500 a day. Someobdy like Linda Evangelista even back in the late 80’s would hzve gotten $50,000 at least for a shoot like that.
alan brickman
He’s super fat and super cheap…coincidence??…..
Pip
Its not like A&F have emo skinny models to begin with. Those dudes are all beef cakes. You don’t maintain that amount of muscle without eating carbs.
brad gough
That is NOT what happened! My friend was the caterer on that job, and the guy was canned because he was acting like an mouthy asshole and was driving everyone nut’s. Bruce Webber is a Doll and would never do that. It just shows how full of shit the media is(including Queerty).
Seth
Well this story certainly got you all Mooing.
Bigon
So there are guys like that in Belgium, I guess I will have to look harder :p
Evji108
@Ken S:
What in the h*ll are you talking about? Are you on the wrong page or on drugs?
Cam
@brad gough:
You are a liar, You are pretty easy to find and this was the first sentance on one of your blog entries.
http://bradgough.ca/archive_html/2008_05_01_archive.html
“My Euro trip is over! I am back in the lumber town, it all seems like a crazy dream. Who would have ever guessed I would get to meet my idol BOB COLLACELO and legendary photographer BRUCE WEBER”
So he is your idol, of COURSE you are going to come in here and try to defend the guy. If what he is claiming is a lie, funny how none of the agencies, photogs etc… are saying that to the press.
alan brickman
brad gough = hideous troll….
jujubee
this boy’s face is perfection!