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Should underweight models be banned from participating in runway fashion shows?
Results so far:
| No | 31% | 475 votes | Total: 1510 votes | |
| Yes | 69% | 1035 votes |
No
by L. Merlino
Created on: February 01, 2008
What's underweight for one person, may not be underweight for another. Beauty comes in all body types and sizes - so does health. One should never assume that just because someone is skinny, an eating disorder is involved!
Even if a model does suffer from an eating disorder, banning such a creature from the runway is not the answer or the cure to the problem.
Eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia are not exclusive to skinny people - many "big" people suffer from these disorders also - only it's not so obvious. If anyone suffers from a chronic eating disorder, sooner or later it will interfere with work performance and physical appearance to the extent that a career as a fashion model would certainly be unsuitable. There's no need to ban a model from the runway for being underweight! Modeling is a career that takes a lot of energy, sparkle and "beauty" whether the model is skinny or plus-sized. No designer wants to hire models that are too weak or dissipated to keep up with the pace of that very demanding (and competitive) career. Sooner or later, other, more capable candidates for the job will gain the advantage and the sickly, malnourished incumbent will be ousted.
Most fashion houses strive to sell a "look" that will eventually sell in a range of sizes for the retail market. While some designers "specialize" in plus-sized clothing or dressing more "mature" figures, many (if not most) ready-to-wear collections will be scaled to fit a wide range of sizes - from petite to extra large - before they reach the shopping aisles.
In defense of the skinny model:
It takes a "clothes horse" to do justice to absolutely any silhouette, and thin models have that going for them. It's a given fact, that most thin models can wear just about anything (including a burlap sack) and look good on the runway.
Voluptuous women of ample proportions may or may not be the greater beauties (often they are), and may or may not be healthier - but one thing's for certain - big beauties can't wear just "anything" - the subtleties of silhouette must be considered, and that's where specialty designers come in that cater to the plus-sized figure.
It's no wonder that typical mainstream fashion designers favor thin runway models to flaunt their creations - it's about selling a "look" after all. There are fewer fittings involved and less fussing over whether a model's "bulge" will compete with the designer's carefully crafted "bustle" or tucks.
The slim model is an ideal clothes hanger "in the flesh" whether or not the actual clothing is designed with exclusively skinny customers in mind. That is why models are typically called mannikins. They are hired to "display" a new fashion statement - the customers who actually purchase those garments may be proportioned differently, but it helps if there's some industry standard to the initial marketing of new look.
There are always exceptions - lingerie and swimsuit models are usually more amply proportioned - who wants to see a bag of bones parade in a bikini?
If anything, it is about marketing. Without marketing, there would be no fashion industry as we know it today.
While it's true that many models starve their selves to safeguard a career, there are also models that go to great lengths to gain a few extra pounds, so as to be more versatile in the types of clothing they can display. Emaciation does not make for a successful modeling career!
My own experience:
In the 1960's, I was a gawky, skinny kid who desperately wanted a Raquel Welch or Sophia Loren figure. No matter how much I ate, my figure remained bone thin. Sexy, I was not! Then along came Twiggy - someone who I could really identify with. The times, they were a changing.
I loved fashion - in fact my mom was a fashion designer. One magical day, I got offered the opportunity to work as a fashion model, the ideal career for me at the time - a chance to feel gorgeous and even glamorous and actually earn money at it, even though I was a beanpole.
While working as a model, I learned the inside scoop on the fashion industry - how much work was involved in "fittings" and how designers sought runway models who'd fit a standard "sample size". No muss, no fuss - the garments could go straight from hanger to "clothes horse" to runway and a stable of versatile, slim models was the mainstream designer's ideal.
Nonetheless, my agent pleaded with me to put on a few extra pounds - yes, I was that thin! Eventually I did fill out, but it took many milkshakes and lots of extra effort to achieve.
Some people are just plain skinny, but not necessarily underweight - that depends on body-type and individual nutritional needs. If a person is truly underweight (in the sense of "unhealthy"), it will be difficult to hold down any demanding career that depends on the ability to consistently look one's best. Modeling is a high-stress, high-energy profession.
Learn more about this author, L. Merlino.
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Yes
by Nicole Nolan
Created on: February 07, 2009
A year ago I would have been arguing on the other side of this debate. I myself, when healthiest, tend to be underweight with a BMI of 17.5-18, and my BMI never goes above 18.5, no matter how much I eat. I know many girls who are also very tall and very thin, and definitely underweight, yet they will never gain much more without being 'overweight' for their body. For me it is almost natural to maintain a BMI of somewhere around 18 if I am keeping active and eating well and am doing strength training of some form. If I am not paying attention to my muscles, I am on the lower end.
My change in opinion comes with the drastic change in models who have been modelling since my interest in high fashion took root. I offer the examples of Coco Rocha and Sasha Pivovarova as two models who, just a couple years ago, were the skinny ones. Now, they are two of the larger models. I will offer some observations which have helped to convince me that there is a problem. The examples that I am giving, I find both compelling and sad, as there are young women who have lost alot of their incredible beauty in their obviously gaunt states. I avoid any of the more obscure models who have died, and instead I am focusing on some of the most recognisable faces in the fashion world.
Coco Rocha has mentioned in interviews that she was told to look anorexic, because it was the look this year, and admits abuse of diuretics in order to achieve the impossibly thin body that runways now desire.
Going through style.com's runway pictures, I find myself struck by the almost skeleton like looks of many of the models, some of which were so beautiful and alive looking a few seasons ago. The fashion industry once idealized thin and slender, but now, the idea of controversy seems to have taken over, and the girls are fading away.
Canadian model Daria Werbowy was banned from Milan fashion week about 2 years ago. If you look at her on the Paris or New York runways, she looks like one of the healthier models. Many other models have lost runway popularity for not being as frail as some of the newcomers. Raquel Zimmerman, Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini, and Hilary Rhoda have practically disappeared on runways, appearing instead in Victoria's Secret campaigns, or denim ads. All four were on the May 2007 cover of American Vogue, and part of their feature on the new top ten models. The other models include Lily Donaldson, Chanel Iman, Coco Rocha, Sasha Pivovarova, Jessica Stam, and Agyness Deyn. All six of these girls still have definite careers, though only three seem to be healthy still. Coco and Sasha, as I mentioned earlier, and Agyness Deyn who's career was sparked more by her uniqueness and still thrives on her celebrity. Lily Donaldson and Chanel Iman are both clearly below their body's healthy weight, and Jessica Stam manages to switch between Victoria's Secret cleavage in December (off season for runway) and a frail and gaunt look during fashion weeks.
The promotion of a sickly image has a great deal of effects on society. If these images become the norm, a girl will not realize when she is unnaturally thin looking, and the image will be less shocking to those friends who might try to provide help. The main effect is on self esteem and psychological issues, but I think it all should come down to human rights and women's rights. These models are for the most part very young girls from poorer countries who will do anything to keep their job. They are being exploited in a version of child labour with a veneer of glamour, and they can afford to eat, but cannot for their job.
I hope that the industry will come to reality soon, and promote instead, bodies like Lara Stone, who is the sole subject of this month's Vogue Paris.
Learn more about this author, Nicole Nolan.
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