First published 1995
Michael Gross pulls back the curtain on the modeling world's glittering surface. The Esquire senior writer ventures behind the scenes into exclusive studios and lavish estates where beautiful women become commodities. He documents how wealthy and corrupt figures exploit models in an industry built on carefully managed illusions. Gross conducts extensive interviews with legendary figures including Anita Colby, Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton, and Cindy Crawford. Through their testimonies, he constructs a damning portrait of systematic abuse disguised as glamour. The book strips away the polished marketing to expose the mechanisms of a business that trades in human beauty. Gross reveals how power operates in this world, showing the gap between public perception and private reality. His investigation uncovers the personal costs paid by women who become objects in a ruthless commercial system.
Genres: abuse, business, sociology, non-fiction, 21st-century, fashion
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, expos
Period: 21st-Century
524 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Content warnings: abuse, sexism