![[News] Vogue Bans Skinny and Underaged Models](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/large-16-9/s3/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/vog_jpg.webp)
Nineteen Vogue editors have pledged to use only healthy models on their editorial pages and banned underage models, to maintain a healthy and realistic depiction of adult women’s bodies. The editors have agreed on six points, that will appear in Vogue's June issue, which includes not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or “who appear to have an eating disorder”. Vogue will require modeling agencies to be more strict when it comes to sending models that have unrealistically small sample dress sizes for shoots and have vowed to promote healthier practices for models by ensuring healthy food options on set.
Jonathan Newhouse (of Vogue’s parent company):
“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 wellbeing of their readers."
via [BBC]
Go Vogue! Peter Paul Rubens would be proud. :)
Bravo to Vogue! I hope the rest of publication follow their example!.
yeah i really really hope those 6 points are strong and they hold true to their pledges.
beware people, even this could, unfortunately, be just a PR stunt.... i truly hope it's more than that though.
This sounds great!
Although the loop hope: >>not knowingly<< work with models under the age of 16 or “who appear to have an eating disorder”.
Its a BS loophole though, since they insist on copies of the model release for any printed image - how can they "not know" a model is under 16 then?
In other news... fashion retouchers will continue to trim fat, remove wrinkles, and accentuate female curves...
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-moves-toward-banning-use-of-photoshop-...
This article talks about how "enhanced post production" is already beginning to be banned in some commercial areas.
Some girls are naturally REALLY skinny and can still "appear" to have an eating disorder.
For example, I weigh 98 lbs and have been trying to gain weight for 5 years.
I just find this a little unfair to those women who have naturally thin bodies. Are you saying they don't look 'right' and that they need to change?
I think the goal was to encourage the "average" healthy female body. without a doubt there are many exceptions, but I still think its a step in the right direction. There are just so many unhealthy habitats that are fueled by a distorted image on what we see in the fashion industry. I think that we as a species are lead by example, so we as people need to see healthy models on fashion magazines rather then someone who hasn't been eating properly just to get this one image
Exact same problem.
I think the fashion industry just needs more diversity overall. This is a step in that direction, I just hope eventually it doesn't go the other way to where thin is completely out. Even with being thin, I still have body image issues (i.e. feeling like I need to weigh more to be attractive).
Dorota, you're exactly right that this is unfair. I think it's discriminatory and shows a total lack of understanding as to what constitutes beauty.
Beauty is about proportion and geometry which is independent of weight. A heavy woman can have the same hips-to-waist ratio as a skinny woman (and vice versa) In other words, a heavy woman and a skinny woman might differ in terms of weight but still maintain the same hips-to-waist ratios.
Weight is not a factor when beauty is recognized as a matter of proportion. There were eras in the past, as during the time of Reubens, when heavier women might have been considered more fashionable. But, the women depicted in a Reubens painting still had excellent proportion regardless of their weight. The geometry of their form is what made them beautiful.
The problem with many people in the fashion industry is that they pay too much attention to weight and not enough attention to proportion.
i find it's about not encouraging unhealthy eating habits that would make "average" strive for "underweight" - i would say same as there are plus size models there should be S/XS (or whatever) size models....
Wow! Good news! I honestly thought that it would only get worse.
"Not Knowingly" ??
Sounds like a convenient loophole to me...
It's just awesome that on the same page as this article, FS has placed a big add right next to the article title for Portrait Professional that "in just 3 steps" changes a slightly heavy model into a completely different slim and younger person. Way to go FS!
Would you all agree that most models have to train their bodies such as an athlete? Why not just give models a blood test or something so you know that they are healthy.
One of the most important requirements for a fashion model is flawless skin.
There aren't many 30 year old's with flawless skin. There are many 15 years old's with flawless skin.
Another very important requirements is that the model be at least 5'9" or taller.
So when you combine youth and height, you going to get some pretty thin women.
Supposedly women want to see "human sized" model in magazines and ads. This certainly isn't borne out in their buying habits.
Fashion is a business. There isn't any agenda save making money. If clients really want "human sized" women, there would be no doubt the industry would cater to it.
about time.
well, there goes the industry ...
Bullshit PR exercise. Money talks.
I am a professional retoucher in the fashion industry for major national brands. I will say from experience that the size of the model largely has to do with whoever the company is. While all the female models are skinny, some companies consistently use models who, while skinny, are clearly a realistic size and what I would consider to be "naturally thin". I would still say none of them are above a size 2 though (maybe a size 4 in some cases) In these cases, I don't often find myself with requests to trim any excess "fat".
However, some companies consistently shoot models who are obviously skinny to a point of being unhealthy. They usually look like a size 0 or 00 and have even gone so far as to have obvious signs of anorexia or bulimia... which I won't go into detail about, but isn't good. It's very upsetting every time I run across these photos. Obvious, all of these signs are retouched out so that customers would never be the wiser. Models have even been so skinny sometimes that the client has requested we ADD fat back in. The model was even too skinny for their standards.
So I am in some ways on board with this statement in that I would like to see companies finally discouraging unhealthy habits. I would like to see companies such as Vogue no longer pressuring models to constantly lose, lose, lose. This adds not only pressure to models, but pressure to all women, and ultimately encourages behavior such as eating disorders. Companies are free to use models who are skinny, that is not a problem at all. The average size for a model used to be a size 4. While this is still skinny, this is an attainable size for women to achieve, and a realistic depiction of women.
Beauty is measured in proportion, but more importantly, attitude. Heavy women are beautiful all the same as skinny women, and I would hope that all of America would realize that one day. Heavy women can be heavy and still healthy, just as skinny women can be skinny and still healthy. The key issue is health, not size. We all need a proper proportion of healthy diet, exercise, and mental health, combined with a happy disposition to back it all up, regardless of size. That's beauty. Not size 0.
I'll believe it when I see it.
That whole "appears to have an eating disorder" regulation will certainly be up for dispute. Some people will look at a model and claim they must have an eating disorder when they are actually perfectly healthy. While I'm all for trying to get models to stay healthy and not starve themselves, the way they're doing it could become problematic.