Fashion brand adds ‘non-negotiable’ eating clause to models’ contracts

Rose and Willard’s founder Heidy Rehman told the Times of London that she’s seen models act “delirious and talking gibberish” because of hunger, a behavior she hopes to stamp out with the “non-negotiable” eating clause.

Rehman explained in a blog post on the Huffington Post that the move comes as the British government is nearing a law banning models 18-years and younger to protect them from eating disorders and other dangers. She used non-models, or “women we believe represent aspiration,” that was panned by shoppers, but isn’t deterred.

“We are now at a crossroads with regard to whether we continue with professional models or our non-model models. If we do opt for the former we have decided that we will include a non-negotiable contractual clause with the model agency which will state that the model must eat a meal and in our presence,” she wrote. “We will not allow her to only eat a tiny morsel and/or suggest she’ll eat later. The consequence of non-compliance will be that neither she nor her agency will be paid.”

Rose and Willard is a small fashion brand. Rehman, however, hopes that with the power of social media and word-of-mouth, other fashion brands will enact this type of clause.