It’s a well-known fact that the fashion industry is one of the most exclusive and cutthroat industries in every aspect possible. In order to stay relevant, you need to be new, offer something to the table that somebody hasn’t yet, have a special thing that you can capitalize off of to gain attention. This doesn’t only apply to up and coming designers, but it’s especially true to the models that must wear these designs. Runway models have certain bullet points that the person must follow in order to wear that new Margiela dress on Paris Fashion Week. Editorial modeling has become more inclusive throughout the years, thanks to the fact that many photographers don’t need to take whole body photos for these shoots and the influence of the body positive moment has made many brands wake up to the unhealthy message they send. We can’t ignore people like Rihanna, whose Savage x Fenty line is dedicated to making every woman in every body feel sexy. It’s thanks to people like her that fashion is becoming a safe space to people that haven’t felt comfortable before. But it would be ignorant to state that the entire industry is like that – watching the latest fashion shows would be an obvious argument that it isn’t.
In my opinion, runway models are the most affected by the unattainable beauty standards of this industry. In order to become a runway model, a person normally must be 5’10 or taller while maintaining an extremely low weight. It’s important to keep in mind that in runways, many designers look for these tall, thin models so that they can emulate a clothing hanger; the models, especially in these last few years, hold little to no expression, as their job is to only show the clothing. But why don’t designers use bigger sized people? There’s a simple answer: it’s easier to have all the models a same, tiny size. There’s no need to alter clothing or adapt it to that model’s body type, while with the stereotypical model the clothing with simply hang off of their body like it would on a hanger. That way, the client will observe and see if they would like to purchase the piece, and once in the atelier the design will be altered to that special client. The point of haute couture is to wear extraordinary designs made specially for the person ordering it. But that is not the only reason: some designers genuinely don’t want bigger sized people wearing their designs. It’s an unspoken truth: some of the biggest fashion houses look down on anyone not a runway sample size, calling someone fat for not being a size 0 – 2.
It is sad to see that some of the most important and influential people in the fashion industry spread such negative and fatphobic messages to the public. The late Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most legendary designers, working at Fendi, Chloe and most notably Chanel, was also famous for his opinions on women larger than a size 0. Lagerfeld didn’t keep quiet on his ideology that the world of fashion and tiny models go hand in hand. With quotes like “You’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly. The world of beautiful clothing is about ‘dreams and illusions,” and “No one wants to see curvy women,” Lagerfeld promoted the idea that skinny and only skinny is beautiful. Anything less than that, the industry won’t want it. One of Lagerfeld’s Chanel muses, model and actress Lily Rose Depp also suffered from anorexia at a young age due to influence of the fashion industry and ruthless comments on her appearance.
Sure, runway models may get used to these unachievable standards, but that doesn’t mean this doesn’t affect their mental and physical health. In an article from 2017, models discussed scary tactics used to stay at this unhealthy weight; from eating cotton balls to stay full, eating only slices of apple throughout the day and constantly calculating every calorie entering their body, maintaining their measurements tend to become a thought constantly on the back of these model’s minds. Remember, the designers may give these measurements, but the public reinforces them. One of the most tragic examples of this happening is Australian model Gemma Ward’s downfall. Ward became famous at the fresh age of 15, thanks to her slim figure and distinct babydoll face that designers craved on their runways. Everything changed after the death of her then – boyfriend, Heath Ledger, because of an overdose. The tabloids and paparrazi became obsessive with Ward, taking pictures and criticizing her every move. This including her weight gain: journalists made unnecessary, fatphobic comments, saying Ward wasn’t recognizable, she looked big and bloated after gaining a surprising 10 or 15 pounds. These journalists blame this weight gain on emotional eating to cope with the loss of Ledger, the model letting herself go. These comments made Ward take a long break from modeling to escape the tabloids and focus on her mental health.
Many huge designer brands have the skinny, heroin chic look like the base of their aesthetic. The look, popularized in the 1990’s, glamourized heavy drug use and the skinny aspect many addicts get with time. Models like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and socialites like Paris Hilton were praised for their extremely skinny figure. Brands like YSL became synonymous with “heroin chic”, and the dark aesthetic associated with pretty, thin, primarily white models. Though the look gained popularity in the 90’s, brands today still impulse this look. For example, a quick Google search of ‘Celine model’ will show you the way the models chosen to be on these shows all have sunken cheeks and high cheekbones, extremely thin legs, and very prominent collarbones. What message would you interpret from that? That Celine is an inclusive brand and celebrates people of all body types and colors? I’m not sure about that…
It’s hopeful to see people and brands breaking these standards and voicing their opinions on this dark part of the industry. Victoria Secret model Romee Strijd recently announced her pregnancy in a Youtube video and explained how due to extreme weight loss she also lost her period, which pushed her to gain weight to focus on her health before her looks. Strijd regularly makes What I Eat in a Day videos and reinforces the idea that healthy does not equal skinny, and highly discourages people to starve themselves for a certain look. Brands like Savage x Fenty and Hanifa, an African designer brand that celebrates a woman’s natural curves, bring hope to an industry that for years has celebrated unrealistic proportions and measurements for many people. Fatshaming and the normalization of disordered eating has life long impacts not only on the models, but the public receiving this information. These ultra skinny models tend to inspire other people to participate in unhealthy habits to get this body; photos of runway models get used as “Thinspo” or inspiration in eating disorder communities to continue their disordered habits to get at the lowest weight possible. Yes, the industry has come a long way, but we have a long way to go. It’s so important to support body positive influencers, plus size models and brands that promote inclusivity and remember that fashion is for anyone and everyone: that’s what’s so beautiful about it.
