When you're in the audience of a runway show it's hard to see the models as anything other than perfectly coiffed, put-together superhumans. However, 19-year-old model Victoria Cain wants to prove during this London Fashion Week that models are human just like everyone else, especially when it comes to periods.
“The first time I realized periods could be a problem was at a photoshoot where I was the only girl,” she told The Independent. “I got a surprise [period] attack in the middle of the day and I had to fake a cigarette break and go to find a shop. All I could think was ‘I can’t leak on the clothes.’ It makes me stressed just thinking about it.”
While much of Fashion Week, and modeling in general, is about looking as perfect as possible, periods often have the worst timing. For instance, leaking or a visible tampon string on the runway are some of Cain's greatest fears. Combine that with long days waiting in line and very little time to eat, it's a wonder we haven't heard about it before.
“It’s hard to find five minutes to do what you’ve got to do,” Cain says, remembering the feeling of getting your period in the middle of an hours-long casting line. “It’s horrible because you can feel it and you can’t go to the toilet because you lose your spot. You think, do I lose a possible job or wait for another half an hour? So you just put up with the leakiness.”
Now, Cain tries to do her part to eliminate this taboo, bringing tampons along not just for herself, but for the other models around her. “The chances are if I don’t need it, there’ll be another girl frantically looking for a tampon and I’ll come to the rescue.”
Cain doesn't think the industry will change to be more accommodating of periods, but she does think the world could make things easier by providing free tampons. "It's just human nature," she says.
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