Teen model Jazz Egger exposes dark side of fashion on Instagram

Jazz has almost 11,000 followers and says she hopes her posts will help promote body confidence. Photo / Instagram @jazzegger

A teenage model has made it her mission to expose the dark underside of the fashion industry via a series of candid Instagram posts.

Jazz Egger has been modelling since the age of 13 and took part in Germany's Next Top Model as well as making the finals of Elite Model Look.

But the 19-year-old, who is originally from Austria but now lives in London, wants people to know "what goes on behind the scenes" - from sleep deprivation to what she calls "the pressure to be underweight".

In a series of Instagram posts, Jazz has written honest comments alongside her pictures using the hashtag #truthbehindthisshot - taking aim at agencies and "miserable stylists".

Jazz has almost 11,000 followers and says she hopes her posts will help promote body confidence.

The teen, who is a UK size 6, has also posted about airbrushing her skin, editing her "uneven" teeth and feeling "uncomfortable" about her nose.

In one post, she claimed a modelling agency told her that her hips were "way too wide" and that she needed to lose weight "in order to have a chance at London Fashion Week".

She explained: "I already was underweight so I decided not to lose any weight."

On a black and white selfie posted on Tuesday, she wrote the caption: "At this point the only reason I'm still on Instagram is [because] casting directors started asking how many followers I have so they can decide whether they consider me or nah."

She added: "[I don't know] how to feel about this but they this is me dropping a selfie to stay in the game."

In another post, she talks about cutting out salt, sugar, fat and alcohol "for months" in the lead-up to London Fashion Week to keep her skin clear.

Jazz also admitted to deliberating for over an hour before posting a photo on Instagram because she felt "uncomfortable" about her nose.

In a full-length mirror shot, she wrote: '"This took me like 15min to take and I was close to falling off my bed [because] I had to make my legs look slim."

View this post on Instagram

OCT. 24 2016//you call the shots babe//I just wanna be yours #vhs (#truthbehindthisshot this took me like 15min to take and I was close to falling off my bed bc I had to make my legs look slim)

A post shared by J A Z Z 🇦🇹🎸🇺🇸➐ (@jazzegger) on Oct 24, 2016 at 11:59am PDT

Her followers have praised her no-holds-barred attitude and thanked her for her honesty.

Jazz told FEMAIL: "Beauty standards are hella stupid. And what's going on behind the scenes of the industry is even crazier.

"For example, most designers only create fashion pieces in one size; usually us size 0-2 (UK 4-6). So when they go on the hunt for fashion show models, they look for girls who have a 0-2 size.

"That's one big issue. I think, if more designers created standard sizes, the pressure to be underweight would decrease. But that's one issue in a million. There are tons of reasons why the industry needs a revolution. Promoting a healthy body image is so important."

Speaking about her Instagram posts, Jazz said: "I think, even if only one single person thinks about my words and changes their mind when it comes to the fashion and media industry, I already feel like I'm doing the right thing."

View this post on Instagram

Finally: REDHEAD BABY #stellamodels (#truthbehindthisshot I had long black hair and my agency told me to dye my hair back to my natural color otherwise they'd shave it off. I tried to dye it back but it turned out red. I lost my agency contract.)

A post shared by J A Z Z 🇦🇹🎸🇺🇸➐ (@jazzegger) on Mar 14, 2014 at 5:12am PDT

She added: "I get so many messages from young people who ask me how they can lose weight or other beauty questions.

"I never give them advice, I only ask them: 'If you were the only person on this planet and no one could see you. Would you still want to change your body?' I guess you know what they then answer."