Organizers at Intern Labor Rights, a division of the Occupy Wall Street movement, have announced their plan to descend on the hordes of well-dressed, constantly photographed models,Discount Vibram Five Fingers celebs, and industry folk during the height of New York Fashion Week.
The issue came into the limelight when former Hearst intern Diana Wang began a class-action lawsuit based on her time as an unpaid intern at Harper's Bazaar. Though Wang herself isn't involved in this new initiative, she certainly paved the way for addressing an issue the industry generally likes to keep quiet. One of the protest organizers told Buzzfeed that interest is spiking higher and higher each day, and though he doesn't expect to see hundreds, he does think there will be "a significant presence" outside shows this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Former Fox Searchlight intern Eric Glatt, who's also in the midst of a lawsuit, explained the theory behind the outrage: "Whenever it's at a for-profit institution the worker legally needs to be compensated. The fashion industry is a for-profit industry — it's not like they're working not-for-profit arts organizations. They're making billions of dollars and the fact that they're asking their students to donate their labor to these businesses is really outrageous."