The fashion industry isn't known for being diverse and inclusive. Despite being a work of fiction, if the film adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada taught us anything, it’s that even Anne Hathaway—a white, thin, able-bodied, conventionally pretty, cisgender woman—can feel like an outsider.

And rejection is par for the course as a model. It’s easy to imagine a casting being like an episode of America’s Next Top Model, with Tyra Banks standing in front of a panel of industry experts, with only one photo in her hands but two beautiful models before her. In reality, it’s often several hours of waiting in line to be seen by designers for a minute or less before possibly leaving with zero feedback. It can be difficult to quantify what goes into the choice to cast one model over another.