USA: New York's fashion shows do not ban skinny models from runways, but encourage healthy-living education.

Record ID: 493219

  • Title: USA: New York's fashion shows do not ban skinny models from runways, but encourage healthy-living education.
  • Date: 10th February 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LYNN GREFE, CEO, NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS ASSOCIATION, SAYING: "I have to admit, I'm disappointed. I don't understand why they're not requiring physicals or asking the modeling agencies to have physicals annually for these young women. You have to do that to go to college, and it would be a real good way to determine if someone needs help."
  • Embargoed: 25th February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Fashion,Health
  • Reuters ID: LVA9P26HTCCZFA65G6FY2Z9ADMXN
  • Story Text: The Council of Fashion Designers of America did not ban too-skinny models from New York runways on Monday (February 05), as fashion houses in Milan have done. Instead, the council called for healthy-living education and eating disorder awareness. While some models and others in the fashion industry felt that the debate on thin models was somewhat overblown out of proportion. The use of ultra-thin fashion models has come under scrutiny around the world, especially Europe, but the American fashion industry has decided against forcing designers to ban them from the runways. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which organizes the semi-annual Fashion Weeks in New York, held a panel discussion on Monday (February 5) as part of the Fall 2007 New York Fashion Week, in which they discussed their reasoning against the ban and emphasized instead their call for healthy-eating awareness and education for models. "We don't not feel it is in our scope nor our job to tell the designers how to create their clothes, nor what type of model they think best shows their collections. It would be like Rubens to paint skinny women and New York city ballet to use bigger ballerinas. This is their aesthetic choice. What we are taking on is to create a structure inside the current thin aesthetic that educates and promotes the concept of a natural, healthy thin," said Nian Fish, Creative Director for KCD and one of the members of a CFDA panel on the thin model issue. The CFDA recommended that models with eating disorders seek treatment, young models work limited hours, healthy food be supplied backstage and smoking and alcohol be banned. The panel members emphasized on Monday that their guidelines were about awareness and education, not policing. The fashion world has been debating the issue, with many designers and models shrugging off concerns that ultra-thin models encourage eating disorders in girls and young women. Last month Milan fashion houses formally barred ultra-skinny and under-age models from its February shows. The agreement between the city and its powerful fashion industry bans models under 16 and those with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 from Milan's shows. At the panel discussion, Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova questioned the validity of using BMI to measure a model's health. CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, Lynn Grefe said that whether BMI is taken into consideration or not, all models should at least be required to have a physical. Said Grefe, "I have to admit, I'm disappointed. I don't understand why they're not requiring physicals or asking the modeling agencies to have physicals annually for these young women. You have to do that to go to college, and it would be a real good way to determine if someone needs help." While Fern Mallis, Vice President of IMG Fashion, which helps organize New York Fashion Week, said that while unhelathy thin-ness is certainly an issue around the world, the world of fashion alone shouldn't be considered the culprit for promoting this image. "I think there are a lot of industries that need to look at what they do, from the dance world to young girls who are struggling to be ballerinas, to what's going on in Hollywood. I don't think it's runway images that are driving all of this around the world," said Mallis. Brazil has launched a campaign to ban under-age, underweight models from shows in response to the death of an aspiring model, 14 year-old Maiara Vieira, from complications due to anorexia. Fashion designer Camen Marc Valvo said at New York Fashion Week that Vieira's death was very unfortunate but that the disease that she died from afflicted "very few models in reality." He added that the too thin syndrome sometimes results from girls wanting to be models when they're not genetically inclined to have the lean-ness commonly enjoyed amidst models. But despite all the hype around the thin models debate, many of the models at New York's shows claim that they eat well and are healthy. "It's good that people are starting to see this, but how I said, like myself, I really have normal dishes everyday. It's just the work and I've always been very skinny since I was like small, and I was always having this kind of body structure," said model Magdalena. Another model, Tanya Z., said she d sn't think models have diet problems. She said, "I don't think so because models eat everything and now it's like deal with this food and everything, it's like crazy. We eat more than everyone because we work hard and we eat a lot." Milan remains the only city of the four world centers of fashion -- the others being New York, London and Paris -- to enact an outright ban on skinny models. Meanwhile, in New York, as a toast to fashion and style during Fashion Week, the bubbly and some alcohol still flowed, and models weren't just seen munching salad, many seemed to be enjoying snack food like chips and doughnuts.
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