Rosebud
Thu, Oct-05-06, 17:32
http://www.smh.com.au/news/eating-disorder/survival-of-the-thinnest/2006/10/05/1159641434825.html
Is banning skinny models on the runway a real turning point in the size debate?
The dress, leggings and A-line mod styles may have made headlines at this year's international fashion weeks, but the real debate that raged off the runways was the size of the models.
The issue jumped into the limelight after organisers of Madrid Fashion Week banned models with a body mass index - a ratio of height to weight - of less than 18. That meant a model measuring 170 centimetres tall had to weigh at least 52 kilograms. Under such a ruling British supermodel Kate Moss would not be able to take part.
A factor driving the controversy was the death of 22-year-old South American model Luisel Ramos, who suffered a heart attack after stepping off a runway in August. She had been on a three-month diet of green leaves and diet Coke after being told she could be an international sensation - if she lost weight.
There was also a strong reaction to the models at New York Fashion Week, said Tim Gunn, who stars on pay TV's Project Runway and is chairman of the fashion design department at Parsons The New School for Design in New York. "Some of the girls caused you to gasp," he says. "When the knee joint is wider than the thigh, it can be scary."
The debate is intensifying amid concern that the use of spindly models sets unrealistic standards of beauty that encourage young people to crash-diet at the expense of their health. Milan mayor Letizia Moratti urged organisers behind Milan Fashion Week to follow Madrid's example.
The storm only abated after organisers confirmed plans to introduce a new skinny model policy next year. All models will need to present a doctor's certificate of good health before they will be allowed to walk at the autumn season shows in March, while under-age talent will have to be chaperoned.
The British Fashion Council, which organised London Fashion Week, cancelled its photo call after a barrage of criticism for refusing to follow the lead taken by Madrid and ban models under a certain size. A consortium of retailers said they would prohibit extremely thin models from participating in The Clothes Show Live in December, a major UK fashion event that has kicked off the careers of many famous models.
The debate gained high-profile support. Peaches Geldof, the 17-year-old daughter of Sir Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, told the British tabloids the issue was "disgusting".
"I think the whole fashion industry needs to wake up. It disgusts me," said Peaches, speaking after the Ben de Lisi show at London Fashion Week. "I've been strong enough to avoid [the pressure to be thin] because I think it's ridiculous, but for a lot of people, when they see a model going down the catwalk ... they think, 'Should I be like this?' - and it leads to disorders or bad body image and I think it's wrong."
The furore also caused a fashion-industry backlash. The Paris ready-to-wear shows kicked off this week with the French fashion industry's leading official saying he did not believe organisers should ban the use of models considered underweight.
Didier Grumbach, head of the Chambre Syndicale, the body that governs French fashion. says it is not the role of fashion to solve public health problems.
"I think it's a non-issue. You don't solve public health problems by regulating the size of models," he says. "You know, fashion is only the reflection of what is happening in society. It is not the cause."
France's health ministry recently announced it was setting up a working group on body image, with the aim of establishing a charter with advertisers banning the use of excessively thin models. Grumbach says he does not plan to take part in the government talks.
"I honestly think we are not responsible for health problems," he says. "Let the health ministry take care of health problems, and let fashion designers choose models according to their taste."
Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer and chairman of the British Fashion Council, says body mass index is only a guide. So long as a girl is exercising and eating right, her body mass index makes little difference.
Some fashion experts say the brouhaha over skinny models is much ado about nothing. "My feeling is that this is a media-generated rehash of an old story," says David Wolfe, creative director at the Doneger Group, a fashion trend consulting firm in New York. "The fact that one show in Madrid banned skinny girls is meaningless thus far." Wolfe says models in the 1950s were virtually the same size as models today, and that even Grace Kelly had a 50-centimetre waist on her wedding day.
In Australia, Sydney modelling agencies came out in support of the ban. Kathy Ward, the director of Chic in Woollahra, says the ban was a positive step.
"I think it's a great move," Ward says. "If girls are too skinny they're not going to get jobs. I'm supportive of what they're doing. It is a positive move for the industry and sets a very good example to the other fashion weeks around the world."
Ward says such a move should be welcomed by the industry as a step towards fostering healthier body images for women.
"In Australia we have a healthier attitude towards body image in that the lifestyle it encourages is outdoor activity and a lot more positive," she says.
Martin Walsh, the director of Chadwick Model Agency in Surry Hills, understands the Madrid ban but believes such a move is unnecessary in Australia. "The truth is the Australian market likes healthy-looking girls ... we never go for anyone that's too thin."
"We would recommend that they [thin models] tone up and would need to be of a certain size. But it's a very relative sort of thing. You can usually tell if someone looks their natural weight."
Is banning skinny models on the runway a real turning point in the size debate?
The dress, leggings and A-line mod styles may have made headlines at this year's international fashion weeks, but the real debate that raged off the runways was the size of the models.
The issue jumped into the limelight after organisers of Madrid Fashion Week banned models with a body mass index - a ratio of height to weight - of less than 18. That meant a model measuring 170 centimetres tall had to weigh at least 52 kilograms. Under such a ruling British supermodel Kate Moss would not be able to take part.
A factor driving the controversy was the death of 22-year-old South American model Luisel Ramos, who suffered a heart attack after stepping off a runway in August. She had been on a three-month diet of green leaves and diet Coke after being told she could be an international sensation - if she lost weight.
There was also a strong reaction to the models at New York Fashion Week, said Tim Gunn, who stars on pay TV's Project Runway and is chairman of the fashion design department at Parsons The New School for Design in New York. "Some of the girls caused you to gasp," he says. "When the knee joint is wider than the thigh, it can be scary."
The debate is intensifying amid concern that the use of spindly models sets unrealistic standards of beauty that encourage young people to crash-diet at the expense of their health. Milan mayor Letizia Moratti urged organisers behind Milan Fashion Week to follow Madrid's example.
The storm only abated after organisers confirmed plans to introduce a new skinny model policy next year. All models will need to present a doctor's certificate of good health before they will be allowed to walk at the autumn season shows in March, while under-age talent will have to be chaperoned.
The British Fashion Council, which organised London Fashion Week, cancelled its photo call after a barrage of criticism for refusing to follow the lead taken by Madrid and ban models under a certain size. A consortium of retailers said they would prohibit extremely thin models from participating in The Clothes Show Live in December, a major UK fashion event that has kicked off the careers of many famous models.
The debate gained high-profile support. Peaches Geldof, the 17-year-old daughter of Sir Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, told the British tabloids the issue was "disgusting".
"I think the whole fashion industry needs to wake up. It disgusts me," said Peaches, speaking after the Ben de Lisi show at London Fashion Week. "I've been strong enough to avoid [the pressure to be thin] because I think it's ridiculous, but for a lot of people, when they see a model going down the catwalk ... they think, 'Should I be like this?' - and it leads to disorders or bad body image and I think it's wrong."
The furore also caused a fashion-industry backlash. The Paris ready-to-wear shows kicked off this week with the French fashion industry's leading official saying he did not believe organisers should ban the use of models considered underweight.
Didier Grumbach, head of the Chambre Syndicale, the body that governs French fashion. says it is not the role of fashion to solve public health problems.
"I think it's a non-issue. You don't solve public health problems by regulating the size of models," he says. "You know, fashion is only the reflection of what is happening in society. It is not the cause."
France's health ministry recently announced it was setting up a working group on body image, with the aim of establishing a charter with advertisers banning the use of excessively thin models. Grumbach says he does not plan to take part in the government talks.
"I honestly think we are not responsible for health problems," he says. "Let the health ministry take care of health problems, and let fashion designers choose models according to their taste."
Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer and chairman of the British Fashion Council, says body mass index is only a guide. So long as a girl is exercising and eating right, her body mass index makes little difference.
Some fashion experts say the brouhaha over skinny models is much ado about nothing. "My feeling is that this is a media-generated rehash of an old story," says David Wolfe, creative director at the Doneger Group, a fashion trend consulting firm in New York. "The fact that one show in Madrid banned skinny girls is meaningless thus far." Wolfe says models in the 1950s were virtually the same size as models today, and that even Grace Kelly had a 50-centimetre waist on her wedding day.
In Australia, Sydney modelling agencies came out in support of the ban. Kathy Ward, the director of Chic in Woollahra, says the ban was a positive step.
"I think it's a great move," Ward says. "If girls are too skinny they're not going to get jobs. I'm supportive of what they're doing. It is a positive move for the industry and sets a very good example to the other fashion weeks around the world."
Ward says such a move should be welcomed by the industry as a step towards fostering healthier body images for women.
"In Australia we have a healthier attitude towards body image in that the lifestyle it encourages is outdoor activity and a lot more positive," she says.
Martin Walsh, the director of Chadwick Model Agency in Surry Hills, understands the Madrid ban but believes such a move is unnecessary in Australia. "The truth is the Australian market likes healthy-looking girls ... we never go for anyone that's too thin."
"We would recommend that they [thin models] tone up and would need to be of a certain size. But it's a very relative sort of thing. You can usually tell if someone looks their natural weight."