U.S. Fashion Industry Following International Trend
drgreggjantz | 22 January, 2007 17:57
I was happy to read that the U.S. Fashion industry is following the lead of Spain and Italy in creating standards for models.
There is a quote in the following article that is alarming:
In 1965, the average model weighed 8 percent less than the average woman. Now she weighs 23 percent less, according to the National Eating Disorders Association." Hopefully as the standards change for models, this statistic well turn the other way.
What is your opinion on this subject of guidelines within the fashion industry? Should the fashion industry govern itself or should their be intervention by other parties? How much is the responsibility on the models themselves to set a standard for the sake of their own health? Do these models influence women to be more thin?Designers to identify models with eating disorders
BALTIMORE - They strut across the runway with stick-thin thighs and teeny-tiny waists — the picture of perfection.
But “perfection” can be dangerously unhealthy.
“It’s not healthy for our culture to be barraged with images of the most emaciated women,” said Dr. Harry Brandt, director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Towson.
“Many young people look up to these women as role models, and we worry that the modeling industry is one factor that can drive social pressure for extreme thinness.”
Designers are now responding to cries that models are too thin. The Council of Fashion Designers of America recommended recently that designers identify models with eating disorders.
In 1965, the average model weighed 8 percent less than the average woman. Now she weighs 23 percent less, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.
For years, the fashion industry turned a blind eye to stick-thin models, Brandt said.
Young people who admire overly thin models may develop unhealthy eating behaviors, said Willia Bland, director of Flair Modeling Agency in Catonsville.
“They want to emulate people they know are successful and consequently the first thing they’ll do is stop eating,” Bland said.
The U.S. fashion industry is following an international trend: Madrid, Spain, and Milan, Italy, now require models to have a certain height-to-weight ratio. Milan orders models to have a minimum Body Mass Index of 18.5 to walk the runway, Brandt said.
Fashion designers have taken a step in the right direction by acknowledge the gravity of eating disorders, he said.
“But I’m not sure their current stance goes far enough,” Brandt said.
He has several recommendations for the industry: Models should be required to pass a physical before walking the runway. Designers should include curvy models in their shows in order to show different body types can look good in a variety of fashions.
The Council of Fashion Designers also recommended offering more nutritious food backstage for models and prohibiting smoking and drinking alcohol.
http://www.examiner.com/a-519073~Designers_to_identify_models_with_eating_disorders.html
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