Last September, Romanian top model Diana Dondoe was on the cover of the first issue of the lifestyle supplement of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) business daily. Although the headlines of the newspapers she was dressed in (Diana wore a dress created by designer Roland Mouret and made entirely of Wall Street Journal pages) announced the recession, the crisis in Romania was nothing more than a topic for the press back then. Several months later, with the crisis in full swing, Diana Dondoe told BUSINESS Magazin what the current economic situation looked like seen from the height of the catwalks or beyond the glamour of the advertising campaigns of the major brands, considering the behind-the-scenes motto of the fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan or Paris in terms of model fees was ”half price”. Designers hired fewer models and brands cut their promotion budgets.

For a model, the fashion market is divided into two important fields - fashion shows and advertising campaigns. ”I can say I can feel a decline in the payment for campaigns. But I prefer to work less and do other things unrelated to fashion, to focus on other interests, such as continuing my education at NYU (New York University i.e.).” As for shows, the Romanian top model, ranked among the top five models of the world last year, says they have not been part of her regular schedule for the last three seasons, and that she only does two or three major shows per season.

After having been on the catwalks for six years, she decided to focus on advertising campaigns, which are more profitable. She picked only one show this season, Marc Jacobs, at the New York fashion week. After all, the fashion week in the crisis city was one of the most affected events by the current situation of the economy. Even before the end of 2008, designers like Vera Wang and Betsey Johnson had announced they would not participate to the Bryant Park event where a show may cost up to 750,000 euros, opting instead for a traditional and much cheaper presentation in their own showrooms. All in all, there were 30 fewer designers attending the event compared with last year.

Traducere de Loredana Fratila-Cristescu si Daniela Stoican