How Not to be a Supermodel

You may not know Ruth Crilly's name, but chances are you have spotted her face, particularly if you were fond of an Oxford Street shopping spree in the early noughties. Modelling then was very different to modelling now: there was reality tv, no aesthetics industry or innovative plastic surgery techniques with which to 'launch' a modelling career that mainly plays out on the squares of Instagram and TikTok. There were no press trips to five star hotels along with mini shoots at said hotels and contractual obligations to post. There were no talent managers, no brand managers, no reputational managers. Instead, there was the apocryphal legend of Kate Moss, scouted in JFK airport and rocketed to worldwide superstardom, meaning that it was totally fine and normal for strangers to approach young women outside the Oxford Circus Topshop, waving a polaroid camera and claiming to be a model scout. This is Bridget Jones meets the Devil Wears Prada as told by a mix of Marina Hyde and Bryony Gordon: an insider's nostalgic look at how we used to treat the people judged good looking enough to sell us things, and whether we have learnt anything at all (spoiler! NO, we have not).