As France takes the first steps in encouraging a healthier lifestyle for their models by banning unhealthily thin models from the runways, it's time the rest of the fashion industry begins to take notice and follow their lead. While fashion designer Fazila Shahwaani says, "I wouldn't mind if a model was anorexic on the catwalk, as long as they look nice," in an interview with Nine (Read more here), it's obvious the fashion industry still does not understand how malnourished models are not only harming themselves but also the everyday woman.
By designers promoting thinness on the runway and asking for the skinniest of models, models are forcing themselves into starvation and emaciated states. Some models even resort to swallowing cotton balls soaked in orange juice in order to feel full without the side effects of gaining weight, and others even turn towards drugs, smoking, and plastic surgery to force themselves into the mold of the "perfect" runway body.
Not only are these models destructive of their own health, they are also harming the everyday woman. Because the woman, especially young women, are inspired by what they see on the runway, they too are harming themselves in order to achieve the "ideal beauty" that walks past them on the runway. However, if malnourished models are banned from the runway and from catalogs, these models and the everyday woman who inspire to look like them would no longer feel the pressure to starve themselves in order to fit into the ideal of what is beautiful in the fashion industry.
In 2010, model Isabella Carro starved herself to the point of death. (Read more about Carro's death in here). Weighing a mere 60 pounds, the death of the 28-year-old, Italian model is the epidimie of what the fashion industry needs to ban. Although the model suffered from anorexia prior to becoming a model, by allowing the her to walk the runways, the fashion industry was encouraging and advertising anorexia and thus encouraging other woman to be anorexic as well in order to fit their "standard".
While I strongly believe that everyone and every body is beautiful, models being unhealthily thin in order to be the best is an issue that the fashion industry needs to address. When weight starts become the only thing they think about and diet strategies begin taking a detrimental toll on the body, then its time to take a step back and reevaluate. By encouraging and promoting healthier lifestyles, the fashion industry can go back to focusing on clothes instead of whether a model gained half a pound.
All bodies are beautiful, but if your weight is beginning to take a toll on unhealthy toll on your body or mental health, I strongly I encourage you to speak up and seek help. Anorexia is a serious disease and I encourage you or any loved ones to reach out to the National Associate of Anorexia Nervousa and Associated Disorders for help. For more information, access their website here or give their helpline a call at 630-577-1330.
