Fashion Brief
Federico Hewson
I had always been told I had nice hands. My uncle was a photographer, and when the recession hit, he got creative and said, “How about modelling those hands?”
Castings are weird. At least with acting auditions, you know whether you did a good job. When you don’t get the job, you think: was it my pinkie?
I wouldn’t mention hand modelling on a date. I get embarrassed, but some people think it’s glamorous. They ask me to show my hands, then show me theirs. It’s hard to know how to respond.
It’s all about the close-up. I don’t have a cat and I don’t garden.
Some shoots are fun. I once modelled $3,000 cufflinks. They wouldn’t let them leave the building: they came with their own personnel.
Nina Taylor
A list of modelling agencies was being passed around at school. The first ones I rang were incredibly rude and just hung up. Then I rang the top agency at the time, and they asked, “What makes you think you’re so good?” I told them I did ballet. At the time I wasn’t doing anything with my nails; they took me on as a rough diamond.
My first job was a baptism of fire: a nappy ad with two babies and a notoriously impatient director. My arm got burned when the lights got too hot. Eventually I said, “My skin’s blistering.” They went mad and rushed off to get ice.
I call myself a hand specialist, but I got the label “supermodel” because after a while I got every single casting. I’d get things done in one take every time. My hands were insured for a seven-figure sum. The hands are the first part of the body to show signs of ageing, so I’m branching out now.
Delphine Jean-Gilles
People used to say, “Look at those hands – you should play the piano.” I didn’t know hand modelling was a thing until I saw a commercial and thought, I could do that.
It was around 1996, I was 21, finishing my studies, probably had an office job. There wasn’t much competition, unlike now. Because nobody does it full-time, we have the fun part of the modelling world without the bad part: we’re not competitive, we don’t compare.
I am a little bit obsessed with keeping my nails in one piece, but it’s only ever been something on the side. I’ve got my own business, designing printed T-shirts. My friends usually laugh at the idea of hand modelling. They ask, “Do you actually earn money for that?”
Andrew Bennett
When you tell people you’re a hand model, the first thing they do is look at your hands. A friend’s uncle used to do some hand modelling, and it was always in the back of my mind as something to have a go at. My friends and family think it’s fab; it’s almost as if they know a film star. There are certain perks to the job; I’ll just say that sometimes I’ve been able to take the props home.
I don’t really make enough money from it to worry about insuring my hands, but I have certainly modified the way I work around the house. I used to work on my own car, for instance, but I don’t do that any more. If I know I’ve got a job coming up in the next few days, I’ll leave chores like working in the garden until afterwards.
I’m a full-time photographer and, although I’ve never photographed anyone else’s hands professionally, understanding a bit about being on the other side of the camera has been helpful.
Annabel Capper
I’m an actor, that’s my main job. The first time I went to a hand casting, it was a very strange, existential experience. They seriously examined my hands. One of them went, “Ooh, there’s a tiny freckle.” I might as well not have been there. It’s an oddly abstract thing; when you’re not a person or a face, you just stay silent. You do get oddball collections of people at castings: there are men in cotton gloves, men filing their nails.
The first ad I did was for Twix. For nine hours I tried to find 1,000 different ways to pose. Some of the photographers are so used to doing still lives, they forget there’s a person getting tired or hungry at the end of these arms. One shoot I did was outside in the rain. I got so cold that my hands were going blue, and the photographer snapped at me, “Can you do something about that?”
I love the way people talk with their hands – they’re so expressive. As an actor, I’m often told to use my hands less.
Adnan Rashed
I’ve always been an actor – I do character parts and voiceovers – and I branched out into hand modelling. You go to dinner, and ladies comment on your hands. At the beginning I thought, I’m not sure what this is, we’ll see if I get anything out of it. When a limo comes to pick you up, you know it’s real. It’s very pleasant; they treat you well.
Mercedes will need someone to handle the steering wheel or the gearstick. I did Bayer health products – that was a worldwide campaign. I’m Palestinian, but they use me for anyone who needs to look Spanish or Middle Eastern. Once I did a casting for Ben Kingsley‘s hands.
I’ve always looked after my hands; I put on gloves for gardening and washing up. I never put my hands in hot water, and I use cream and cuticle oils, and go for manicures. I make sure my hands are soft and smell good.
Vincent Oliver
I saw a trashy documentary at 2am one night when I couldn’t sleep. There was a woman saying, “I’m Kylie’s body double.” There were a couple of hand doubles who had similar hands to mine. I contacted an agency and they told me to take pictures on my phone and send them over.
I did the launch shoot for Google Android, I’ve done Mars bars on TV, Kärcher tools and John Smith’s.
I’m a composer. I used to run a record label, but a few years ago I did a career switch. I write music for short films, and work on my own. Doing hand work gets me out of my studio.
I get a job every two months or so. On a day rate, it pays better than music. I do look after my hands, but it doesn’t limit my life. If I have to carry wood or move furniture or something, I’ll wear special gloves.
My friends think it’s the funniest thing ever. I’m introduced as “the hand model” and they really love it.
Stuart Gee
I was looking for work in the media field when I came across an article about the Hired Hands agency, so I thought I’d give hand modelling a go. That was in the 1990s. To tell the truth, I think my family and friends are more interested in what I do than I am.
With hand modelling, you do have to do a little bit of acting: you have to take directions, hit the right cues. In the modelling world, we’re at the bottom of the ladder. I’ve done campaigns with male models and they get fawned over, whereas we just get told, “Sit over there and wait until you’re called.”
I say to people, don’t play with kittens, don’t smoke roll-ups, don’t change bicycle chains. Just look after your hands and moisturise. I don’t have insurance – I always thought that was a myth, what people say to up their reputation.
Laura Lorente
I was working part-time at Whistles and one of the other girls there was a photographer. She said, “Ooh, your hands are really nice – can I take some photos?” She ended up sending them to some agents, and that’s how I got started. I’ve been hand modelling for about eight years now.
When I tell people about my job, some people are like, “Yeah, right” – they think a model would obviously have nice hands.
They don’t believe that, actually, there’s a whole world out there of body-part models.
If people ask what I do, hand modelling isn’t the first thing I say. I suppose I feel people might think I must be quite stupid if that’s all I can do. I also work as a fitness instructor and drama teacher. I sometimes get asked to make things for productions, but I just say no. Small things such as paper cuts can often be covered up quite easily, but you do have to be careful. I don’t do any washing up at home, or cleaning.
Renato De Fazio
I work as an actor and general model, as well as a hand model. When I mention my job, it always raises a smile. It’s not the sort of job that you leave school thinking, “That’s what I want to do”. Everyone’s fallen into it in some way or another. The usual question from other people is, “Could I do it?” and they show you their hands. The reality is that it’s partly aesthetics, but it can also be quite technical. You need to be able to hold your grip steady, take instruction. Having other modelling experience has definitely been helpful.
Hand modelling is quite nice, because it’s anonymous, so you can work with competing products. You could do Apple one day and Samsung the next, and no one would care.
I wouldn’t say that I’m fanatical about looking after my hands. I just have to be a little bit careful. I’ve lost jobs in the past because I’ve got cuts, but these days there’s Photoshop. I usually do two or three jobs a week, so you do forget what you’ve done, and then a month later you spot your hands on a billboard.
