The Sunday Telegraph: The disturbing trend of model deaths

daul kim, backstage @ alexander mcqueen SS08

On November 20th I - along with many others - blogged about the very sad news of the death of South Korean model Daul Kim. The news was all the more alarming by virtue of the fact that Kim's was not an isolated death in the modelling industry - or indeed suicide. As regular readers of this blog would be aware, I have been tracking some of these stories over the past twelve months. Sydney's Sunday Telegraph newspaper asked me to develop the post into a small feature (which they titled "Dying for success"). Many thanks to models.com's Wayne Sterling, Sophie Ward and Vikki Graham for availing themselves for interviews at short notice. Here's the story (which ran last weekend):

THE fashion industry has been rocked by the death of top South Korean model Daul Kim, the latest in what has emerged as a disturbing trend of model suicides over the past 18 months.

The 20 year old was found hanged in her Paris apartment on November 19th, the third model suicide since June 28 2008, when Kazakh model Ruslana Korshunova, also 20, died after falling nine floors from her apartment building in New York.

On October 11 2008, 26 year-old Canadian Hayley Kohle fell seven floors to her death from an apartment building in Milan.

Although Kohle was one of many virtual unknowns struggling to make names for themselves in a fiercely competitive business, both Korshunova and notably, Kim, had achieved far greater success, securing magazine covers and lucrative advertising contracts.

And yet both Korshunova and Kim also left a trail of social networking site posts behind them talking about heartbreak, loneliness and depression, with Kim already once having to defend her mental state on her two year-old blog I Like To Fork Myself.

On October 11, just one month before she died, Kim even used the terms “cut ur wrists”, “jump out a window” and “cry for help” in a blog post called “Say hi to decided”.

“The industry is definitely in shock over the news of Daul Kim's suicide” said Wayne Sterling, a prominent New York casting director and the editorial director of the website models.com, whose closely-followed world rankings of models are considered the industry’s unofficial benchmark. “People are asking...How could we have missed the signals? There have been a lot of tears and some guilt about all of our superficial assumptions”.

But the suicides are part of a wider pattern of recent model deaths that have many asking about the hidden risks and dangers of an industry that remains largely self-regulated.

Not counting the eating disorder-related deaths of three South American models in 2006, which reignited the Size 0 debate and prompted a raft of industry initiatives, on July 7 last year Canadian Diana O’Brien was murdered while on assignment in China.

Then on October 11, coincidentally the same night that Hayley Kohle died, 20 year-old male American modeling star Randy Johnston died from a heroin overdose in Connecticut.

“We all have to accept that yes there is a serious problem” said Sterling.

“Common decency now would demand that designers, editors, photographers and agents should address signs of depression and fatigue and stress in young models as clear problems that could amplify with tragic implications” he added. “We're dealing with human beings here, not inanimate mannequins”.

Speculation is currently focused on the mental health of Australian modeling star Catherine McNeil, who was photographed last week in Sydney with a series of mysterious cuts on her arms.

McNeil’s mother contradicted the official statement from Australian agency Chic Management, that the cuts were the result of a skateboard fall, by stating her daughter fell down stairs and has also been “depressed”, with McNeil’s grandmother adding that Catherine is “burned out” by the industry.

Chic Management declined comment for this story on either McNeil or Daul Kim. Chic’s New York affiliate Next Models was Kim’s American agency.

"This was the tipping point - enough is enough now" said Australian model and author Sophie Ward of Kim's death.

Ward has experienced the modeling rollercoaster both first-hand and through the eyes of her sister Gemma Ward who, by early 2007, had risen to the world number 1 position, before disappearing from the business altogether following a segue into acting and the January 2008 death of close friend Heath Ledger.

“Without a strong sense of identity, I think it's very easy to lose oneself in the demands of a million people, and forget who you even were to start with” said Ward. “Yes I went through dark stages of existential doubt but I wouldn't call it depression, it didn't last as long”.

“Of course my family were vital, but you can't survive in a hotel room with just a telephone, or a blog. You need many voices, many hands, all around you, to get your mind off those pressures, and enjoy life".

Sydney’s Scene Models director Vikki Graham conceded that although she believes agents are not therapists, the size and pressures of the business and the speed of communications have helped depersonalize the industry.

“Models don’t come into the agency like they used to before, now every model’s got a BlackBerry - but a BlackBerry doesn’t tell you whether they’re feeling down in the dumps” said Graham, who also believes agents should be both aware if there are personal issues affecting a model’s work and prepared to cancel jobs.

“They’re not machines” she added. “There are times when they can’t do a job. The model has to take priority over the booking”.

Why is Daul Kim the fifth model to die in 18 months?

Condolences are due to the family and friends of Korean model Daul Kim, who has died in Paris (on the 19th) at the age of 20. Details have yet to be clarified, but New York magazine’s The Cut is reporting suicide (since confirmed by South Korean consular officials). This is yet another very, very serious wakeup call for the modeling industry. It is the fifth model death of which this journalist is aware since June 28 last year - three of them allegedly suicides.

On June 28 2008, Kazahk Ruslana Korshunova fell to her death from a New York apartment building. Although ruled a suicide, a petition was launched to attempt to have the case reopened.

On July 7, Canadian Diana O’Brien was murdered while on assignment in China.

Then on October 11 – yes, on the same night – American Randy Johnston died from a heroin overdose in New York, while Canadian Hayley Kohle fell to her death from a Milanese apartment building. Although Kohle’s death was ruled a suicide, her family also raised questions.

Kim will be remembered not just for her brief modeling career. (I met and photographed her backstage, above, at the Alexander McQueen show in Paris in October 2007).

Kim was also a sensitive and creative soul, who was quite outspoken and raised eyebrows on her two year-old blog, I Like To Fork Myself. There was the time she called out Japanese fashion brand Undercover for being racist. And another occasion when she gave Barneys the finger (literally, in a photo) for its poor customer service.

Some of Kim’s musings were however quite dark and on several occasions she found herself having to defend her mental state on the blog.

In April 2007, shortly after she launched the blog, Kim wrote:

“and thanks to stupid tv show from korea ppl think i like to
torture myself and thanks to that im getting lots and lots of
suicide emails on a daily basis
but im definately not depressed, and i dont want to killmyself”

In October 2008, after hamming it up with some mates in some photos, and censoring some of them after complaints from her mother, she wrote:

"thank you but
i dont care

and i was not high or drunk
i dont even smoke cigarettes.
i go to bed early and i dont party. i rave at home.

but my mother emailed and told me that she is upset and
worries about my mental state so its censored.

i listen to my mother.

i am okay im just having fun with my french gay boys...."

In this very bleak post "Say hi to decided", dated 11th October, Kim's fate looks to have been sealed.

It's a pity that her family and agents did not realise how depressed and lonely she was until it was too late.

RIP Daul Kim.

River Phoenix lookalike model dies. Eight weeks later, now we know why

models.com

A sad – and some might say inevitable – conclusion to the story of 20 year-old American fashion model Randy Johnston, a former Dior Homme advertising star, who died in mysterious circumstances on October 11. Beyond web gossip - which included numerous anonymous comments left on this blog, which I was unable to put up at the time - no official cause of death has hitherto been provided. And there was good reason for that: the Medical Examiner in Hartford, Connecticut, which was Johnston’s home state and the location of his death, took some time to release its findings. Eight weeks later, frockwriter can reveal the Hartford Medical Examiner’s verdict: accidental heroin toxicity. Yes, aspiring musician Randy Johnston died from a heroin OD, just like his hero Sid Vicious - the person he told models.com he would most like to meet. Contrary to the rife net speculation that Johnston overdosed at a “Ford party” however – which, needless to say, would have been extremely awkward for Ford Models, the agency which repped Johnston at the time of his death – according to the New London Police Department, Johnston was found at “a friend’s house” at Bank Street, New London. Although the case is now officially closed, it does beg a few questions.

According to Captain William Dittman, the head of investigations at the New London Police Department, Johnston died at 5.47pm on Saturday 11 October.

Johnston was found on a couch. It is possible, said Dittman, that Johnston and friends were at another location beforehand.

However Dittman’s department believes that Johnston is most likely to have overdosed at the Bank Street house, then fell asleep and simply never woke up.

The New London Police Department has ruled that there are no suspicious circumstances.

Two other parties were present and a small amount of heroin was found on the premises. Neither Johnston nor the other parties, were known to the New London Police.

According to postings by web forum users claiming to be Johnston’s friends, the 20 year-old had been struggling with a heroin problem for some time.

At the time of Johnston's death, a LiveJournal poster who goes by the handle “amandar057” noted:

“he had stopped modeling spring 2007 and came home, did not work, and just spent all of his money on heroin”.

According to “Chump”, who claims to have been one of Johnston’s best friends while growing up:

“Randy was a great person...that succumbed to drugs, to those who want to know. It isn't slander, he really had a problem that everyone that knew him tried to help him with....

“PS: Fuck the modeling industry for introducing him to the nice little coke parties held up in modeling houses. You fucking assholes need to keep in check what your EMPLOYEES are doing to keep themselves looking that slender”.

Drug-related deaths are of course not uncommon – and occur in all walks of life.

What seems odd in this case, is that Johnston appeared to be continuing to enjoy a high profile modelling career at the time of his death, with a fresh editorial in Britain’s i-D magazine, starring opposite top Dutch model Lara Stone, along with other work.

If Johnston had a heroin problem, it seems strange that one of the world’s biggest model agencies continued to trot him out for work.

Did the agency know?

Did it not know?

Did it care?

Frockwriter has sought comment from Ford Models on several occasions, to no avail.

However earlier this morning, we did finally manage to get through to a spokesperson by the name of Lauren Harris, who noted:

“Ford is not commenting on anything”.

It's little wonder that Ford won't be drawn on the subject. A heroin overdose is not great for business - particularly anyone involved in the image-conscious fashion business.

But that’s a business, curiously, which glamourises drug use.

From junkie Amy Winehouse, a recent muse of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel and Guess? Jeans, to junkie Pete Doherty, the erstwhile inspirational muse of former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane - who revolutionised the menswear market with his über skinny silhouette, which many have dubbed “heroin chic”.

And not forgetting Kate Moss, whose earnings doubled after the so-called Cocaine Kate scandal, in which Moss was photographed snorting cocaine with her then boyfriend Doherty.

Yes, drugs are fashionable.

Tell that to Randy Johnston’s parents.

Randy Johnston: Life imitates art

screen grab from 'the septemberists'/anthony goicolea

Another twenty-four hours has passed since the news broke of last Saturday's death of 20 year-old American model Randy Johnston and still no official word on the exact circumstances. Frockwriter has contacted Ford Models, with as yet no reply. As Johnston's family gathers in his home town to pay their last respects, here is an excerpt from the short film that I mentioned yesterday, in which Johnston plays a morbid cameo role. In a coffin. Shot two years ago by Brooklyn-based artist Anthony Goicolea and presented in its original 30-minute version at Thom Browne's Spring/Summer 2007 presentation, the film has suddenly reemerged on high rotation as a disquieting eulogy to the tragic young fashion star.

UPDATE 10/12/08: RIVER PHOENIX LOOKALIKE MODEL DIES. EIGHT WEEKS LATER, NOW WE KNOW WHY.

Called The Septemberists, according to Goicolea's website, the film:

"chronicles the preparations and processes associated with traditional religious ceremonies. A group of boys harvests materials in a dream-like landscape in order to construct the clothing and elements necessary to enact a series of semi-sacrificial rites of passage. Taking inspiration from Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf," the musical score becomes a substitute for dialogue.... In the final scenes, a first communion, wedding and funeral blend together and culminate as a make shift wooden coffin is rowed down stream and crosses paths with a baptismal ceremony."

Johnston was cast in the starring role of the funeral scene.

Here's the video.

Vicious circle

randy johnston via ontd

Yes well if it wasn’t patently obvious that there was more to the story of the sudden, tragic death of 20 year-old model Randy Johnston than was reported by Ford Models on Tuesday New York time, it has not taken long for the chatter to surface.

UPDATE 10/12/08: RIVER PHOENIX LOOKALIKE MODEL DIES. EIGHT WEEKS LATER, NOW WE KNOW WHY.


According to several posters in one web forum who claim to be Johnston’s friends, Johnston died at a party on Saturday night.

Died from what exactly?

In the absence of any kind of official statement or comment from Johnston's agency Ford Models or from his parents, who will now have to contend with not only burying their son but press scrutiny, frockwriter is not going to repeat the claims.

We have sought comment from Ford and will keep you posted.

What we will say however is that although Johnstons’ poor grieving parents are not public figures, the very nature of the career which Johnston pursued in life dictates that even in death, he is.

And while model agencies crank up their models’ profiles in order to get buzz going - ultimately for commercial gain - it’s a little hard to just switch that interest off when it doesn’t suit them and the news is bad.

As reported by frockwriter earlier today, Johnston's obituary details in one local newspaper did seem ambiguous.

The obit reported that, following school, Johnston had “pursued a path unfamiliar to many he knew” and that he had worked hard “in a high pressure industry”.

Also as reported by frockwriter, Johnston admired Sid Vicious - telling models.com that the late Sex Pistols bass player was the person he would most like to meet.

Sid Vicious died from a heroin overdose in 1979 at the age of 21.

What a role model.

River Phoenix lookalike model dies. Four days later still no explanation

randy johnston/nicola formichetti

Sad to hear the news about the passing of 20 year-old American model Randy Johnston who, it emerges, died on October 11. Four days later, the circumstances of his death have yet to be clarified.
UPDATE 10/12/08: RIVER PHOENIX LOOKALIKE MODEL DIES. EIGHT WEEKS LATER, NOW WE KNOW WHY.

The news appears to have been broken by Johnston’s agency, Ford Models, which has a tribute on its website. And has since trickled through on the web via various forums, including Fashionologie, ONTD, COACD, The Fashion Spot and New York mag's The Cut blog.

The only hard details to surface so far are apparently the only ones that really count to the fashion industry: Johnston once worked for Dior Homme and is in the current edition of i-D magazine, with his hands down the knickers of Lara Stone. And that he once appeared in a video for the Thom Browne menswear label, lying in a coffin.

Given tomorrow’s viewing at the Lester Gee Funeral Home in New London, unfortunately the latter looks to have been a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[UPDATE 3.07PM Equally morbid (as Isaac Hindin Miller has just pointed out to me) is the fact that Johnston, who played in several bands, once told models.com that the person he would most like to meet is Sid Vicious - the Sex Pistols bass player who died of a heroin overdose in 1979].

An obituary in The Norwich Bulletin provides ambiguous details:

“After high school, Randy pursued a path unfamiliar to many he knew. He sought after, and achieved, success as a high fashion model with Ford Models Europe and New York City. Although his time was brief, he worked hard to promote his personal success in a high pressure industry”.

Although it goes without saying that 20 year-olds just don’t drop dead for no good reason - this has in fact gone without saying.

Leading frockwriter to speculate that the circumstances of Johnston’s death may have been neither tragically accidental – nor due to some hitherto undetected medical condition.

It's a sad story, whatever the circumstances.

And it's at least the third sad story this year involving a successful young entertainment/modelling industry figure.

RIP