We Invented Online Portfolios for Models and Actors in 1995 - Enough Dreaming. It's Time to Be a Star!

Britney Spears’ star may have died down years ago with the numerous scandals she has been into, including the crazy encounters with the paparazzi, the underperformances she has delivered on stage, and the random romantic flings after her failed marriage. Everyone has started to see the pop princess as a celebrity flameout.

And then in March of 2008, Britney Spears has landed a cameo role on the CBS sitcom, “How I Met Your Mother” where she has played a simple secretary at a dermatologist’s office. Her guest appearance has had good reviews – many viewers just loved seeing the former Hollywood darling back to her wholesome image.

The cameo role that she has made on the television series has opened up new projects, starting on magazine cover pictorials where she has appeared neat and seemingly back to her fresh “Baby One More Time” days.

The next two years have followed Britney Spears as she has launched a new album proceeded by a world music tour that has became the fifth highest-grossing tour in the world and has brought in $130 million in gross box office receipts by playing 98 dates. She has also bagged high-profile endorsement deals with Elizabeth Arden and Candies’. And yes, she has found a new romance in Jason Trawick, her former talent agent.

Now, the fallen princess has risen up to as high as becoming the sixth “Most Powerful Celebrity In The World,” as documented by Forbes. She has also become the most followed celebrity on Twitter, snatching the title from Hollywood Twitter-starter Ashton Kutcher. She is this year’s top 3 in web rank and 24 in press rank.

And while continuing her modeling gig with Candies’, Britney Spears has recently stepped on a new role for the company as fashion designer. She’s co-creating her own line of clothing and accessories for the brand (although the collection that will hit stores on July 1st is only limited!).

The public seems to just want Britney Spears staying in the spotlight.

So, you want a piece of her? Watch out for her Fall ad campaign for Kohl’s as she excitedly shares:

“Look out for some notes written by me!”

Aside from ultra-skinny females, excessively muscular men will also be banned as models in Australia.

Australian Youth Minister Kate Ellis has been the force behind the new code of conduct for the fashion industry. She’s representing the country’s actions to stop the glamorization of unhealthily thin women and excessively muscular men, identifying these body types as unrealistic cultural ideals of beauty.

“Body image is an issue that we must take seriously because it is affecting the health and happiness of substantial sections of our community. The symbol is a win for consumers. It will empower consumers to tell the fashion, beauty, media and modelling industries what they want and provide greater choice,” she says.

Under the new body-image tick of approval, which will be awarded to magazines, modeling agencies and fashion labels, are the following criteria:

1. Disclose when images have been retouched and refrain from enhancing photographs in a way that changes a person’s body shape, for example, lengthening their legs or trimming their waist, or removing freckles, lines and other distinguishing marks;

2. Only use models aged 16 or older to model adult clothes – both on catwalks and in print;

3. Refrain from using models who are very thin – or male models who are excessively muscular;

4. Stocking clothing in a wide variety of sizes in shops to reflect the demand from customers;

5. Using a broad range of body shapes, sizes and ethnicity in editorial and advertising;

6. Not promoting rapid weight loss, cosmetic surgery, excessive exercising or any advertisements or editorial content that may promote a negative body image

In the next six months, a panel of health and academic experts will work to define the criteria that organizations have to meet in order to be awarded the body image-friendly symbol.

Wonder who’s the mysterious adolescent boy who has appeared to escort Madonna in her latest Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign? Wonder no more.

He is Max Schneider, 17 years old and a senior at a professional performing arts school who has been acting, singing, and dancing since he was four. He’s just added modeling to his resume after doing photo shoot with Madonna for Dolce & Gabbana in Harlem last April.

Being trained as a theatrical performer, his discovery as a model has been unexpected:

“I go to this acting school called ‘Act Teens’ and we do mostly film and on camera work and they had been contacted for this editorial in GQ about actors in New York so they sent me to Jamie at a Street Cat Named Desire and I went up for it. I didn’t end up getting it because I was too young but after that they gave me another chance, they saw something in me. I went up for this Dolce & Gabbana ad and I was lucky enough to book it. It was incredible.”

Max Schneider says his background in acting has greatly helped him during the photo shoot. Although no dialogue is involved during the pictorials, modeling is always role-playing – a craft that the teenage boy has been honed to:

“At the shoot that I did, there was an acting coach there that they had brought in for the models, once we started out and she started telling me what I needed to do and after a couple of minutes she said ‘Oh, I don’t need to tell you too much, you seem like this is really natural. Are you an actor?’ and I said ‘Yeah, I’m an actor’ and she said ‘It’s so much easier when you’re actors, it’s great.’ It felt much more comfortable to be thrown into different roles due to my acting training.”

Here comes the million-dollar question: Is Max Schneider the new Jesus Luz?

Fortunately, he is just as old as Madonna’s daughter Lourdes, and the Queen of Pop has treated her with respect befitting a son during the photo shoot.  The young man has gushed with pride narrating his first big ad and his work experience with Madonna:

“It was absolutely fantastic, just an incredible experience and they were all so nice to me. They really embraced the fact that I wasn’t really as used to that type of world as I was with the acting world, so it was very comfortable.”

“She walked in the room, and I’m a big Madonna fan so I was expecting it to be nerve-wracking but she walked in and it was totally fine. I felt like her son for the day, I was supposed to be her son in the ad campaign actually. She was just so nice to me, it wasn’t like I was some random kid, she really treated me with respect and I truly respected her for that. She’s such a superstar but she treats you as though you’re on the same level. It was really incredible and she’s just a very nice, sweet person. I was pleasantly surprised.”

Though Max Schneider has cherished the experience, he says he still prefers acting to modeling . But for a promising young man like him, becoming the best in both worlds is more likely.

So here’s to his bright future ahead in fashion and entertainment!

Without immediate explanation, Sudanese police has arrested around 25 amateur male and female models during the first ever mixed fashion show in the country’s capital of Khartoum on Thursday.

The arrest has taken place as the models emerged from a popular Khartoum club after the fashion show. The models have spent a night in jail and have been released with an order to appear before the state prosecutor on Sunday, facing a possible charge of indecency.

No reason has been cited for the models’ arrest but it could be a case of cultural or gender issues as bounded by the country’s Islamic law. The fashion show has been first to present male and female models sharing the limelight in one catwalk.

“I spent the night in jail but it is not clear why they arrested us. We were decently dressed. There were wedding clothes,” says Rashad el-Nimeiry, a Sudan-born model with US nationality. He has been released from prison with bruises on his neck and a torn shirt.

Another young male model has revealed to the Associated Press that he was insulted by prison guards. Asking not to publish his name, he has detailed:

“In prison, the guards called me ‘you gay b*tch!’ In our culture this is a really bad word. It is humiliating. I don’t know what will happen on Sunday. This (fashion show) is a new thing in Sudan and they don’t know what to do with us.”

The Thurday’s fashion show has male models wearing Western outfits and walking the runway with their shirts unbuttoned while the female models have been dressed in classical party clothes. A Sudanese female designer has also presented wedding dresses with her modern version of the tob, a colorful accessory that Sudanese women drape around their bodies from head to toe.

If this is another case of indecency, the models will be receiving a maximum of 40 lashes for their crime.

For a 24-year-old Hollywood actor who has even spent her growing years in front of the camera, retiring at that young age is definitely a crazy idea. But call Amanda Bynes crazy if you like, because the former Disney child star is saying goodbye to acting.

Announcing on Twitter, the actress writes:

“Being an actress isn’t as fun as it may seem. If I don’t love something anymore I stop doing it. I don’t love acting anymore so I’ve stopped doing it. I know 24 is a young age to retire but you heard it here first. “I’ve retired.”

But critics have asked, “Did Amanda Bynes has any choice other than retiring?”

Laying all the factors that may have caused the actress to say goodbye to Hollywood in her mid-20s, one reason is highly noticeable: that after her early success in acting, she has lately clambered on her career. She’s been one of those child actors who, after several years, were forced to reconnect with the audience once again as a mature talent.

Amanda Bynes was discovered at a comedy camp at the age of 7 or 8 and shortly after, was given a role on Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy “All That.” Later, she got her own show in the same TV network, “The Amanda Show” where she played a variety of characters and mesmerized audience with the charm of a child. At 15, she starred in her first big movie, “Big Fat Liar,” which has earned a gross income of nearly $50 million.

Then came her transformation to womanhood. She made it to the big screen again in the films “She’s The Man” and “Hairspray,” but the projects were not as successful as her previous gigs. When she starred in “Sydney White,” a modern-day version of the fairy tale Snow White, it topped out at only $13.6 million. After that, it became harder for her to get lead roles.

“Often, what makes an actor appealing as a child simply doesn’t work for them as an adult,” says an anonymous source to author Jacob Bernstein of The Daily Beast who has written up Amanda Bynes’ possible reasons for quitting showbiz.

Amada Bynes has also gotten a TV pilot for the proposed ABC sitcom “Canned,” but the show was never aired. Another movie that she made has went straight to video. And just this spring, it has been announced that she’s no longer part of the Farrelly brothers’ latest film, “Hall Pass.” Though her camp has reasoned out that her estrangement from the project has been due to scheduling conflicts, rumors have also surfaced that she’s been fired from the set.

And then of course, there’s the “Diva Theory.” Some people say Amanda Bynes is difficult to work with, making capricious demands in exchange for public appearances and acting “strange” lately on film sets. But for  a former child star who’s been used to film shoots and all that stuffs, this said diva-like pattern is hard to prove.

What’s there to expect for Amanda Bynes, amidst her announcement to quit acting, is the fact that she still has an upcoming fall comedy “Easy A.” If this project is well-received, she is likely to change her mind and embrace acting once again.

In the words of True/Slant’s Jeremy Helligar who has seen a lot of artists going back to their crafts after announcing retirement, Amanda Bynes is an actor – and actors are dramatic people:

“Although she’s probably made enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life, few stars seem capable of giving up the spotlight for long. If her final film, ‘Easy A,’ in which she has a supporting role, is well received when it is released on September 17, I guarantee you’ll be seeing more of Bynes. She wouldn’t be the first fickle star.”

The 22-year-old Frenchman Tom Nicon is the latest model who sensationalized the gloomy side of fashion after he fell from his Milan apartment in what has appeared to be a case of suicide. He’s believed to take his own life after breaking up with his girlfriend.

Suicide cases in fashion is not new, but it is always sensational. So it follows that although all kinds of people are taking their own lives, it gets more attention when it happens to models.

But why are these young models taking their own lives?

In 2008, 20-year old Ruslana Korshunova shocked fashion after falling from the 9th floor balcony of her Manhattan apartment. The following year, 20-year old Korean model Daul Kim hanged herself in her Paris apartment. In April, 24-year-old  American model Ambrose Olsen was found dead while Colombian model Lina Marulanda also died from falling. Last month, 30-year-old French model Noemie Lenoir attempted to kill herself. Except for Lenoir who has survived death, all of these models have ended their lives in suicide.

According to Giorgio Armani, one of the world’s most prominent fashion figure, the deaths of these young models cannot be separated from the pressures of the fashion industry, especially for staying young.

“This world is too closely linked to youth and makes it seem like life ends at 22. We need to make the young understand life is beautiful from 23 onwards as well. There will always be disappointments, including in love, but they must be faced up to without tragedy.”

And while female models are usually concerned over their weights, the male models are also pressured by sustainability issues. A fashion insider writes:

“The men realise it is not a long-term career – unlike the women, who know that if they can make a name they can stay in the business longer, move on to do other things and turn themselves into a brand.”

In a skin-baring black leotard, black leather short shorts, white headband, and socks on peep-toe shoes - Miley Cyrus and her mesh monokini getup sets fire during the MuchMusic Video Awards. The 17-year-old teen star stands by her outfit as she sings “Party in the U.S.A.” to the cheering Toronto crowd.

Despite that Miley Cyrus was joined by Canadian singing sensation Justin Bieber halfway through her performance, reviews of the event focuses not much on the “Beiber fever” but on how scantily-clad the Hanna Montana star has been.

The underage singer has lately been criticized for not wearing much during her performances and she’s responded by insisting “I’m not trying to be slutty.”

For her choice of outfit during the MuchMusic Video Awards, Miley Cyrus has once again spoken for herself:

“I just love performing. I definitely just feel most comfortable. I don’t take myself too seriously. We are up there just dressing up; we are just having fun. It’s about the girls and guys who are living their dream playing dress up. I don’t walk around in a bikini and bright red lipstick all the time. Cause that’s just who you are when you are performing and what goes into that song.”

Nah, Miley Cyrus is far from following Britney Spears‘ trashy transformation from teen popstar to “mature” artist. She’s starting to dress scantily alright, but she’s got strong family support. Backed by an artist father who’s most likely given her an insider look of the music industry, hopefully this teenage superstar stays level-headed as she advances to adulthood in the world of entertainment.

British model Alice Dellal is bloody dramatic in a 1-minute and 21-second anti-whaling video that has been released and posted on YouTube one week ahead of the International Whaling Commission gathering in Agadir, Morocco.

The graphic protest video from Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) hopes to influence the key international meeting that could allow limited commercial whaling.

The 22-year-old model appears in the short film painting a wall with a brush soaked in whale blood and animal body parts. At the end, a narration can be heard from former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, international trade in whales or whale parts is forbidden. The commercialized whale hunting has been banned for 25 years.

The anti-whaling video calls for support to stop the legitimization of banned whaling practice again, which might be lifted during the international meeting. The overturning of the whaling ban, protesters have believed, could “open the floodgates to whaling across the globe once again.”

As a model and a socialite, Alice Dellal says she is very happy to extend her help to the anti-whaling video, adding “The whole thing (whaling) just sounds so wrong to me.”

Today’s trending phenomenon in ad campaigns is the posting of unretouched images of models instead of their flawless, sometimes “perfect” or sometimes cartoonish photos. Britney Spears has once did it for Candie’s and soon after, a lot of companies are boasting on unretouched images of models for their campaigns to represent “realness” and body acceptance.

Debenhams is the latest company that is sensationalizing the anti-photoshop trend. The UK-based department store is now displaying on its windows three images of the same swimsuit model. The first one of the image is unretouched, the second one is photoshopped, and the third highlighting the alterations being made.

“Our campaign is all about making women feel good about themselves – not eroding their self belief and esteem by using false comparisons,” says the company’s Creative Director Mark Woods.

Debenhams has made quiet a stir for this campaign, which has obviously revealed the trickery behind ad campaigns. On the other hand, its call for making good about oneself is still debatable. Although not photoshopped, the woman on the unretouched campaign is still a typical swimsuit model with athletic figure – not your ordinary girl. She does not need to be photoshopped to look captivating, unlike millions of average-looking women. Wearing the same outfit she’s modeling, does it not pain you to think you’ll never look as attractive as her?

Size 16 model Crystal Renn appealed to the public to not focus on models’ sizes. Penning her thoughts in an article for the Independent, she explained why the labeling of models as either “plus-size” or “straight size” will create division not only in the modeling industry, but in the wider world.

Crystal Renn’s essay was intended for Britain’s Next Top Model judge Julien MacDonald who’s panning plus-size models like herself. Amidst the wisdom she shared of the competition, she also tackled the perceived division of women because of size labeling:

“Part of the problem is this focus on straight sizes and plus sizes. It is creating an ‘us and them’ mentality. We need to change the way we approach the whole thing, and do away with these terms. All we are is a bunch of models, no matter what size. Among women at large there’s no separation into straight sizes and plus sizes. The term ‘plus-size’ leaves the public confused. In the industry a size eight is considered plus. In the wider world women don’t think like that.

“Mistakes in the past have been to base things on extremes. Lots of shows have had size zero and size two girls followed by really curvaceous 16s. When that happens all you see is the size of the girl. The runway needs to be like the street: a variety. If you have more variety then the focus isn’t on the size.

“We need to do away with the titles that we give to models and to women. I think it’s wrong. I would like to see it change… Beauty comes in different sizes and colours. “

Ironically, author Crystal Renn was still introduced at the bottom of her article as the “world’s most successful plus-size model.”