Too thin to be in: Vogue against skinny underage models
Leading glossy Vogue could be about to overturn the fashion industry’s approach to the female body, established over decades. The magazine has declared war on thin underage models.
From now on, all 19 editions around the world will feature only healthy-looking women above 16 years of age, the Associated Press reports, quoting a pact announced by Conde Nast International, which publishes Vogue.
Vogue employees engaged in casting for photo shoots will have to ask for ID to check potential models’ age, and ensure that they have no signs of sickly thinness.
Icons of fashion publishing Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue in the US, and Emmanuelle Alt, who heads the team in Paris are among those who supported the idea. The Chinese, Japanese and British editions will also follow the guidelines starting this summer.
“Vogue believes that good health is beautiful. Vogue Editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers,” Conde Nast International Chairman Jonathan Newhouse said in a statement.
Over the past years, indignation has grown over perceived standards being imposed on young girls through fashion magazines. Many complained that glossies put across the message that being thin no matter what it takes is what makes a woman beautiful. This forced a lot of young girls to curb their eating to ridiculous extremes, often leading to serious health problems.
The deaths of two models in 2006 and 2007 of anorexia and eating disorders rang alarm bells for society and the fashion industry. Now, cities around the world are considering banning the ultrathin from the catwalk.
Several countries including Italy, Spain and Israel have already taken measures to ban very thin models.
RT
