Hailey Clauson (born March 7, 1995) is an American fashion model and has been the face of Dsquared2, Jill Stuart, and Gucci. Clauson was discovered on an open casting call in Los Angeles, of which Ford Models signed her on the spot, a "surreal" experience she recalled. Clauson started modeling at age 14, appearing in ad campaigns for Wild Fox Couture, Jag Jeans and in the Forever 21 catalog. Later in 2009 she left Ford Models and signed with Marilyn Agency. In October she appeared in the Japanese Vogue feature as Model of the Month. In September of 2010 she made her catwalk debut at the spring ADAM show in New York and also walked for Zac Posen and Calvin Klein. Clauson's debut season yielded such sensational results that MODELS.com listed her to be one of the Top 10 Newcomers for fashion week Spring/Summer 2011. Despite being just a sophomore in high school, she's been lauded for her poise and maturity, earning her comparisons to fellow American teen model Karlie Kloss.
In 2011 she left Marilyn Agency and signed with Next Models. For SS11 her advertising campaigns included Mavi Jeans, Topshop, Gucci, Dsquared2 and Jill Stuart. Clauson appeared on E! News, accompanied by her mother, for her first TV interview ever which aired in February 18. Five days after her TV interview aired, Hailey became the subject of controversy when it was found out she walked in three of the major shows: Diane von Fürstenberg, DKNY and Oscar de la Renta in New York Fashion Week being still only 15 years old, when the age limit set by the Council of Fashion Designers of America bans models below 16 for catwalk shows. The fact that von Fürstenberg was president of the CFDA added to the controversy. Fürstenberg later said she didn't know Clauson's age and apologized. Six months later, in August of that same year, Clauson made head-line news again when her parents reportedly were suing Urban Outfitters and two other retailers for the unauthorized use of risqué photos of Hailey on their t-shirts. The suit says the shirts "force" Clauson "to be the object of prurient interests and provides wallpaper for the likes of pedophiles." Clauson's parents are suing all three retailers and the photographer for a total of $28 million in damages.
