Model, Writer, Entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Model’s Bill of Rights Movement, SIMONE APTEKMAN already has a life’s worth of accomplishments under her belt.
In 2016, Simone was the youngest female to attain her master’s degree from the F.W Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Shortly thereafter, Simone relocated to New York where she was scouted to be the model for a month long fashion photography project in Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Laos. Simone was simultaneously working on her first manuscript “daytime fantasies with night vision;” writing on a vintage 1954 Royal Quiet Deluxe Typewriter, which was Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter of choice.
The exposure from her work in Southeast Asia led Simone to begin a career in modeling. But of course, getting that ‘perfect’ start in one of the most competitive markets in the world is rare to come by and therefore hard earned. In development as a model she began to notice a lack in transparency between agencies and models. Her business and law acumen forced her to not turn a blind eye to her observations. Simone went on to be scouted by The Industry Model MGMT NYC who she is currently represented by as well as The Industry Model MGMT Miami, The Industry Model MGMT LA , and MP Management ATL. To learn more about Simone and her various transitions, check out this interview for Naluda Magazine.
After personally experiencing (with her initial representation) and witnessing financial duress issues in the modeling industry at large, Simone hosted a forum where girls could voice their concern regarding financial transparency in the industry. She and Federico Pignatelli owner of Industry Model MGMT and Pier59 Studios founded the Model’s Bill of Rights which aims to enhance transparency for models, including but not limited to their contractual obligations, payment, expenses, and the transferable nature of an 0-1 Via Status. The Model’s Bill of Rights sets a standard for professionalism and safe working environments for models. To learn more about the movement, listen to Simone live on iHeart Radio or read up on the cause on WWD. In addition to the Model’s Bill of Rights, Simone is also an active supporter of charities in both New York and Atlanta, including Humans of Fashion Foundation and the Atlanta Humane Society.
