James Scully and I began a conversation about abuse and bullying in the modeling industry in late 2016.

I remember sitting with him over breakfast one day in West London, listening to these stories that James had been keeping to himself for many, many years.

It was quite an emotional discussion, but I asked James if he'd be

willing to share those conversations with all of us at our first voices gathering, which happened

in December 2016. And to an enraptured room of industry leaders, fashion designers, and entrepreneurs,

he shared these stories with a wider group that then

traveled all around the world. And it's probably one of the most important discussions that we,

as a BOF community, could have had at voices and a conversation that will stand the test of time.

I'm really pleased to share this conversation with you and share

James's stories with you because they are important stories that need to be heard not just in fashion,

but beyond. Just a quick note, James's conversation happened in front of a live audience, so please

do you excuse any audio issues.

On my first day of college, I was on my way to class, and I passed a bulletin board,

and on the bulletin board, it was just a green card that said, dressers needed, show up at Bergdorf-Goodman at 9.30 in the morning, and I thought, that seemed more interested

than going to class, so I cut. So I went to Bergdorf, and I went up on the third floor,

and I had no idea that they were premiering Karl Lagerfeld's first Cotaur collection for Chanel.

So three days earlier, I was on a bus with all the money I had

and thinking, how did this boy from the crappiest part of New Jersey

wind up in the

middle of this room, but there I was. And it was one of the most electric experiences of my life.

It validated every reason I left home and that I wanted to be in this business. And it really,

it just made me really want to be in show business. That was the thing that got me.

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