Underage Model Valerija Sestic’s Agency Lied About Her Age At Fashion Week

Underage Model Valerija Sestic’s Agency Lied About Her Age At Fashion Week

By Erin Donnelly 09/23/11 at 02:00 PM

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Photo: Imaxtree

Smells like teen spirit: 15-year-old Valerija Sestic on the Spring 2012 Tory Burch runway

The CFDA might need to start taking a closer look at those birth certificates ...
Despite the CFDA's new guidelines that designers hire models who are at least 16 years of age, 15-year-old beauty Valerija Sestic managed to slip through the cracks at New York Fashion Week, according to a profile in the Wall Street Journal.
The Swiss-Croatian model, currently making the rounds at Milan Fashion Week, hit the runway at more than a dozen shows during New York Fashion Week, including Rodarte, Tory Burch, Oscar de la Renta, Prabal Gurung, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Donna Karan. Oopsie!
So, how did the teen fool the fashion world? Blame her modeling agency, which reportedly knew of Sestic's underage status and yet persisted in getting her bookings.
"It is true," Women's Management president Dejan Markovic tells the paper. "She is 15. This is never going to happen again from our company. I take full responsibility."
A spokesperson for Burch confirms that Sestic's agency said she was 16.
But with many praising Sestic as the model of the season, it appears that there will be little fallout for her. And, since the runway appearances of 14-year-old Kylie Jenner and her 15-year-old sister Kendall barely kicked up a fuss, it seems like now would be a good time to reevaluate just how to enforce the age requirements. Suggestions welcome!
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Karlie Kloss is courting controversy with her nude photo shoot.