Less anorexic models
By Heraclitus
You've probably heard that Madrid and now Milan have taken steps to ban overly skinny models from their high-fashion shows. Better late than never, I suppose, but does anyone know why now, after years, if not decades, of concern and criticism of the unhealthy ideal of beauty promoted by fashion advertising? The extent of my experience with name designers was going to a three-for-one sale at Tom's Place in Kensington Market (although the sale I went to was actually at the JCC at Bloor and Spadina), so I'm afraid I don't have much insight on this.
[Ed. note: Heraclitus is referring to the great city of Toronto, wherein lies the intersection of Bloor and Spadina. -- MJWS]
You've probably heard that Madrid and now Milan have taken steps to ban overly skinny models from their high-fashion shows. Better late than never, I suppose, but does anyone know why now, after years, if not decades, of concern and criticism of the unhealthy ideal of beauty promoted by fashion advertising? The extent of my experience with name designers was going to a three-for-one sale at Tom's Place in Kensington Market (although the sale I went to was actually at the JCC at Bloor and Spadina), so I'm afraid I don't have much insight on this.
[Ed. note: Heraclitus is referring to the great city of Toronto, wherein lies the intersection of Bloor and Spadina. -- MJWS]
posted by . at
10:07 PM
4 Comments:
Models in the fashion industry are essentially clothes hangers. Their purpose is to walk down the runway to demonstrate how the clothes move.
For this reason, designers prefer a single body type - they want their clothes to hang a particular way on the girls, and differences in body types would lead to another variable. There's a sort of template, I suppose.
It seems (I'm not saying it IS) that clothes hang almost universally well on a girl who is flat chested with very narrow hips. On a person like me, it might bulge or bunch in the wrong places.
Also - the media keeps crowing about models being a size zero. I'm going to get ridiculously technical and inform readers that they're actually listed in agency comp cards as being size 4.
Typical measurements are 34", 24", 24", and the lowest acceptable height is 5'8" (average models are 5'10"). And no, I don't think it sounds terribly healthy at all. Some girls are naturally thin, but more often than not, they have to diet to get that way.
I won't even go into how much the agencies take of their cut from the girls' pay.
But it's not all tales of anorexia from the modelling world. One of the most talked-about models in the business is Crystal Renn, who found more work as a plus-sized model than as a size 6.
By
Grace, at 9:14 PM
I forgot to add this on the last post, but what people should really take issue with is the age of the girls.
Scouts regularly recruit girls as young as 14. By 20, you're considered over-the-hill, unless you encounter some amazing success (example: Daria Werbowy).
By
Grace, at 9:19 PM
Hi, Grace, thanks for your comments; they help clear some things up. If the woman/girl you linked to is considered a "plus" model, then the standards must be even more absurd than I thought.
By
., at 10:47 PM
This is true.
Also, welcome to The Reaction. Glad to have you on board.
Another thing I should add about modelling, but forgot: it's about exclusivity, too. Not only are the clothes prohibitively expensive, only a select few can actually wear the designs well.
Karl Lagerfeld, who designs for Chanel, was reportedly furious when he learned that his designs for retail chain H&M were made available in sizes 12 and up.
By
Grace, at 10:56 PM
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