Milan men's fashion week draws to a close tomorrow after the suspected suicide of a leading model, just months after the death of designer Alexander McQueen raised questions about the pressure of the industry.
The suspected suicide in Milan of leading male model Tom Nicon last Friday, was the latest in a list of recent suicide attempts by some of the industry's top names, prompting questions about the stress placed on high-profile models and designers.
Nicon, 22, a French model who worked for Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Hugo Boss, fell to his death from a fourth floor apartment after returning from a Versace catwalk rehearsal.
Police in Milan said they suspect suicide and are inquiring into reports that Nicon was depressed after recently breaking up with his girlfriend.
Nicon's death is just the latest in a series of tragedies in the industry. Last month, Marks & Spencer's model Noemie Lenoir, 30 (below), attempted to killer herself in Paris. In November, South Korean model Daul Kim, 20, hanged herself after writing on her blog that she was "mad, depressed and overworked", while in April American model Ambrose Olsen, 24, was found dead. British designer Alexander McQueen hanged himself in February, the day before his mother's funeral.
In April, Colombian model Lina Marulanda fell to her death in a suspected suicide attempt, while in a similar incident in 2008 Russian model Ruslana Korshunova was suspected of taking her own life after she fell from the ninth-floor balcony of her New York apartment.
Designers and colleagues of Nicon were quick to rule out any link between the industry and his possible suicide. "All kinds of people take their own lives," Tom, 21, a male model, told Corriere della Sera. "But if it happens to one of us it gets more attention."
Other models recalled how Nicon, from Montpellier, appeared hardworking and stable. "Tom was lighthearted, positive, beautiful," said model Jethro Cave, the son of singer Nick Cave. "I would never have imagined this would have happened to him."
But designer Donatella Versace, who worked with him at the rehearsal on Friday, said he had been quieter than usual. "Who knows if that was a signal that I, as a woman and a mother, could have acted on?" she asked.
And one of Italian fashion's senior figures, Giorgio Armani was quick to point the finger at fashion. "This world is too closely linked to youth and makes it seem like life ends at 22," he said after hearing of Nicon's allegedly tangled romantic life.
"We need to make the young understand life is beautiful from 23 onwards as well," he said. "There will always be disappointments, including in love, but they must be faced up to without tragedy."
An anonymous fashion web posting said the sheer grind of the industry was a bigger threat.
"We go to castings and the directors take one look at us and then we're dismissed," he wrote. "You spend your whole life wondering what's wrong with you. Why didn't I get that job?"
One industry insider said today that for female models who are concerned about their weight, the industry's pressure is doubled.
"The clothes are more forgiving on male models, who sometimes treat the job like they are on a backpacking holiday," he said.
"The men realise it is not a long-term career – unlike the women, who know that if they can make a name they can stay in the business longer, move on to do other things and turn themselves into a brand."