Sara Ziff

Sara Ziff is an American fashion model, filmmaker, and labor activist. She is best known as the founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, a New York City-based non-profit policy and advocacy organization that promotes fair labor standards and workplace protections within the American fashion industry.

Born and raised in New York City, Ziff attended the Bronx High School of Science and the Dalton School. She went on to earn a B.A. in Political Sciences, magna cum laude, from Columbia University, followed by a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ziff was scouted on a Manhattan street by a fashion photographer at age 14 and subsequently built a high-profile modeling career. She appeared as the face of advertising campaigns for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, and Kenneth Cole. Additionally, she walked in runway shows for prominent design houses, including Prada, Chanel, Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga, Chloé, and Alexander McQueen.

Expanding into filmmaking and writing, Ziff co-directed the award-winning documentary Picture Me with Ole Schell, capturing an insider's look at the modeling industry. She directed a three-part web series for New York Magazine's blog "The Cut" and released a preview of "Tangled Thread," a documentary focusing on Bangladesh's garment industry and female workers organizing for better supply chain conditions. Ziff has also written op-eds for publications such as The New York Times, Equal Times, and The Guardian.

In 2012, Ziff founded the Model Alliance. Under her leadership, the organization championed the 2013 Child Model Act in New York State, extending basic labor protections, maximum working hours, educational safeguards, and trust account requirements to underage models. She led several major campaigns, including a 2019 open letter to Victoria's Secret regarding sexual misconduct protections, as well as advocacy for New York State's 2022 Adult Survivors Act. She and the Model Alliance introduced the Fashion Workers Act in New York alongside state legislators and industry supporters; signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2024, the legislation took effect in 2025 to establish legal responsibilities for model management companies and client protections for workers.

Her activism extends to international labor rights and humanitarian causes. In 2012, she supported Save the Children, introducing its flagship report on childhood malnutrition at the United Nations. That same year, she began campaigning for Bangladeshi garment workers, later joining activists at New York Fashion Week in 2013 to urge Nautica to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. In April 2023, Ziff filed a civil lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, Miramax, Disney, and others, alleging sexual violence by a former Miramax executive in 2001.

Ziff's honors include being named to Jezebel's "The Jezebel 25" in 2012, receiving the Susan B. Anthony award from the National Organization for Women in 2013, and earning the 1st Inspiration and Visionary award from the Women & Fashion Film Festival in 2014. In 2022, the Consulate General of France awarded her the Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite. In 2025, she was included on the Time 100 list of the World's Most Influential Rising Stars.