Larissa Drekonja will never forget the moment when, during a screen test for a film that was supposed to be shot in Hungary, the film's director instructed the other actor in the scene to leave the set — and proceeded to plant a kiss on her lips.
Drekonja, an actress and model originally from Slovenia, was shocked and embarrassed.
"This guy was much older than me, much rounder, I did not expect this to happen and I was ashamed," she told INSIDER. "I was thinking how is this my fault and I'm not going to get a job because I didn't do something that was based on my sexuality."
It wasn't Drekonja's only time experiencing sexual misconduct in the industry; she described another incident in which she spent hours meeting with a man about a movie project, only to be told that while she didn't get the job, he was in love with her.
For Drekonja, those encounters, in addition to other problems within the industry, like unsafe working conditions and cramped living spaces, influenced her decision to start a company that would give models more control over their careers.
That company, an app called Neon Coat, offers agented models living in New York City, Miami — and soon Los Angeles — free or heavily discounted experiences (think a yoga class, a matcha drink, or a haircut), in the hopes that those models will then take to social media to post photos of themselves at those businesses.
The idea of beautiful people being offered free stuff solely based on their attractiveness may seem dubious. But, Drekonja and Dan Berger, Neon Coat's other co-founder, claim that isn't the case. They say that the app is supposed to empower models to take control over their social lives, instead of having to rely on modeling agencies and promoters.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, models have slowly come forward to describe instances of sexual harassment and assault across the industry. According to an anonymous survey of 241 fashion models in New York and Los Angeles by the Model Alliance, 29.7 percent of respondents experienced inappropriate touching on the job, while 28 percent felt pressured to hvae sex with someone at work. More than 86 percent of models surveyed said they had been asked to change nude at a job without advance notice, with 27.5 percent of them ultimately posing nude even though it made them uncomfortable.
In 2017, model Cameron Russell created the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse on Instagram to help models anonymously share their sexual assault experiences. Other models, including Kate Upton and Sara Sampaio, also took up the hashtag to shine light on abuse in the industry.
"In the modeling and acting industry, I felt that other people, and especially men, were responsible for me to either get a job or not to get a job, and as a model and an actress I find that really frustrating," Drekonja told INSIDER. "That kind of motivated me to start my own business because I didn't want other people to be in control of my own work or my own income, and it really started off with getting these girls off promoters and off these agency dinners and really getting the tools into their own hands so they can start promoting themselves."
But, it's also impossible to ignore how Neon Coat may be perpetuating its own brand of gender inequity, allowing models to barter their looks for free meals and fitness classes. Berger told INSIDER that since launching in 2017, 3600 models and over 100 businesses have joined. Neon Coat is free for the models, while businesses pay a fee to join. On the app's Instagram account, photos include a model with a heaping plate of spaghetti at an Italian restaurant, enjoying a cone at an ice cream shop, and exercising at a fitness class.
"People hanging around the space is always good. Having attractive people is even better," Joseph Batista, owner of Joey Bats Cafe in Manhattan, told the New York Post, about why he signed up for the app.
Those who use the app have, on average, 15,000 social media followers, according to Berger. He added that it also includes a feature that connects models with lawyers, to help them with problems they may encounter in the industry.
As of now, Neon Coat is only available for people who are signed with modeling agencies. Berger told INSIDER that after somebody submits an application to join the app, an approval team goes through to decide if they can — or cannot – join. He said that the reason they must be signed is to just attract professional models, as opposed to Instagram models and influencers.
Some have taken issue with Neon Coat's approval system. One reviewer, who gave the app two stars, described the app as a "headache."
"As an older model, for models that may have yet to be signed and working hard everyday towards representation, this app is useless," that reviewer said.
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