Chinese agency denies working Russian teen model to death

A Chinese modelling agency has denied overwork killed a 14-year-old Russian model who died after a catwalk show during Shanghai Fashion Week earlier this month.

Teenager Vlada Dzuyba had a standard contract, Zheng Yi, chief executive of the ESEE Model Management, told local media, and had not been forced to take part in a 13-hour fashion show, as reported in Russia’s Siberia Times.

The girl’s death has prompted questions about employing youngsters lured by the promise of fame and glamour to work in high-pressure environments without proper controls.

In a statement on social media, the agency said it was “sorry we have lost an angel,” but Mr Zheng said Vlada’s employment terms had been above board.

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"(Vlada) Dzyuba had received 16 different jobs during her two months' stay in China. She had regular breaks while working. Most of her work was completed within eight hours. Her workload was moderate compared with other models," Mr Zheng told the Global Times newspaper.

Conflicting reports

There are conflicting reports about how the teenager died.

Vlada, who came from the city of Perm near the Urals, had finished the Shanghai fashion show on Sunday, October 18th, then travelled to the city of Yiwu on October 23rd where she had another photo shoot.

The girl felt ill in Yiwu and returned to Shanghai, but her condition began to deteriorate on Thursday and she started vomiting.

She died on Friday, less than two weeks before her 15th birthday.

Global Times said a medical report submitted to the organisers of Shanghai Fashion Week showed that the girl had septicopyemia, a form of blood poisoning, which had led to multiple organ failure.

Mr Zheng said ESEE, which is one of Shanghai’s best-known modelling agencies, had signed a three-month contract with her Russian employers, the St Petersburg-based Smirnoff Models, and that no working hours were specified.

However, Chinese employment regulations require that employees work no more than an eight-hour working day up to 44 hours a week. While teenagers under the age of 16 are allowed to work, there were strict controls.

The Siberian Times had reported that Vlada died of meningitis, which had been made worse by overwork. "Her preliminary cause of death was meningitis compounded by severe exhaustion… officially, she was required to work three hours a week in China, a law which mirrors that in Russia, " the paper said.