How it works
The magazine comes up with a theme, the photographer and the stylist create a series of frames, and the clothes come from various brands. The result is a few or a dozen pages in the publication and on its website.
Editorial work pays little or a token fee, but it matters a great deal for a career: a strong story in a good magazine is the best advertising a model can have, and it leads to paid campaigns.
Models with unusual, memorable looks are often called "editorial". Commercial models, whose looks are closer to a broad audience, work more in advertising and catalogues.
In practice
A magazine asks a model to appear in an eight-page fashion story about tweed suits. The fee is a token one, but the magazine is well known. The agency advises accepting. Three months later the story comes out, and the tearsheets in his portfolio help him land his first paid campaign.
What to watch for
- Judge editorials by the publication, not the fee.
- Ask for the tearsheet when the issue comes out.
- Editorial pictures are not used in advertising without an agreement.
Related terms
Frequently asked
01Are editorials paid?
Little or a token fee. The value is the publication and the attention of new clients.
02What is an editorial model?
A model whose unusual look suits magazine fashion stories and high fashion.