Models Get Picked On

There has been so much comment on models lately and their lack of body weight and “lifestyle” choices.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America has now weighed in on the debate about models and has released a new health initiative to combat anorexia, bulimia and chain-smoking.

These are suggested guidelines only and not enforceable:

# Keep models under 16 off the runway and don't allow models under 18 to work at fittings or photo shoots past midnight.

# Educate those in the industry to identify the early warning signs of eating disorders.

# Require models identified as having an eating disorder to receive professional help and only allow those models to continue with approval from that professional.

# Develop workshops on the causes and effects of eating disorders, and raise awareness of the effects of smoking and tobacco-related disease.

# During fashion shows, provide healthy meals and snacks, while prohibiting smoking and alcohol.

Do you really think the last one is going to be achieved? Smoking and models seem to go together.

There is no mention of a BMI guideline. A BMI under 18.5 is considered underweight.

''The CFDA Health Initiative is about awareness and education, not policing. Therefore, the committee is not recommending that models get a doctor's physical examination to assess their health or body-mass index to be permitted to work,'' the CFDA said in a statement. ''Eating disorders are emotional disorders that have psychological, behavioral, social and physical manifestations, of which body weight is only one.''

You have to feel sorry for the models that are genetically thin. At some point people have to realise that some people are naturally thin, curvy, and large. Does it really matter? I don’t assume that all ‘big’ people suffer from obesity. If that’s their body type, then so be it.

Michael Vollbracht, the creative director at Bill Blass, said ''thin is always in, it's how you show clothes… But then those size 0 styles are plucked by stylists for Hollywood actresses who then feel fat and then diet when they can't fit into the tiny garments, and there are so many girls and women who then look up to the stars. It's a perpetual cycle”. The guy makes a valid point. So it is settled then – celebrities are to blame. I knew it. Isn't it great that you can blame everything on famous people?