How skinny is too skinny - the debate continues

Since the death of model Ana Carolina Reston (at age 21) at São Paulo's fashion week in November of 2006, from complications arising from anorexia, the fashion industry has been very touchy about the great weight debate. How skinny is too skinny? How young is too young to model? Who decides what is healthy? (São Paulo has now banned models under 16 and demanded a health certificate for girls taking part in runway shows). I am personally torn, because I like the very thin model look - the haute couture, concave, angular, body as architecture look but there is a point when skinny becomes scary. Can that be quantified? Is it possible to create a standard that accounts for different body types, age, and metabolism??

For my skinny example I'll use French model Audrey Marnay (I'm a huge fan and I think she's beautiful in such and interesting and unusual way)


She is much smaller than the Victoria Secret/Swimsuit/Men's Magazine Models, but in my opinion still healthy looking. Just for the occasional male reader (love Heidi too - a perfect example of sexy without being cheap):



Now here, for me is where skinny goes into scary. Below is Allegra Versace who was checked into a hospital to combat anorexia by her family.



"Thin" is a difficult issue for me because it is so subjective and I feel to some extent that every person feels under scrutiny or just has days when they feel like a Good Year Blimp. Having see seen several good friends suffer through anorexia there becomes a cross over point where they go from skinny to skeletal. I don't think that we need to encourage this trend because British health experts have said that anorexia has the highest fatality rate of any psychiatric illness with 13 - 18 % of sufferers dying (most commonly from heart disease or suicide). Similarly, most people do not have the same shape at 24, 34, 44 (etc.) that they have when they are 13 - 15 which is the common age of runway models when they are signed. Having to deal with a changing body shape in the spotlight and having to compete with younger girls that haven't necessarily gone through puberty at that point seems unfair.

On the flip side, if your job is based on the condition of your body, is it not your responsibility to be at the top off your game. Do we judge models on the same rigorous principles as we would judge an athlete? Personally, I was shocked when I saw Karolina Kurkova at São Paulo a few months ago...I'm going to get hated on for this one, but it's my blog so I can say what I want. She looked fine for a normal woman, but as one of the world's top-payed models right now, her body was not where it needed to be.


Recently, the editor of British Vogue "weighed" in (pun totally intended) on the issue by sending out a letter to established fashion houses to make them stop sending out size zero clothes. This interested me and here is what I found online at www.telegraph.co.uk: by Roya Nikkhah Published: 10:00AM BST 14 Jun 2009 Miss Shulman accused designers of an "increasingly disturbing" practice of sending fashion magazines "minuscule" clothes for fashion shoots, which forced editors to hire models with "jutting bones and no breasts or hips". Eleni Renton, a leading model agent who has pioneered the use of healthy-looking girls, said: "It is about time that somebody stood up to the designers, and it is hugely brave of Alexandra to come out and say there is a problem. "I have had girls turn up to shoots and not be able to fit into the samples and these are model-size, slim women. "It has become ridiculous and for too long, designers have been getting away with making clothes that are simply not designed for normal women." Hilary Alexander, the Telegraph’s fashion director, said: “I totally support Alex and addressing this issue is long overdue. “Her call now needs to be backed by all the other glossy magazine editors, who must join the chorus if they want to see a change within the fashion industry. One lone voice will not be enough.” Emma Healey of Beat, the charity that supports people affected by eating disorders, said: "This is very welcome. The whole controversy over size zero models has been a wake up call. "It is very encouraging to see Vogue taking a stance like this." Miss Shulman said that clothes created by designers for the catwalk which were then sent to magazines for photoshoots had become "substantially smaller" and that Vogue was now having to "retouch" photographs "to make the models appear larger". In a letter to fashion houses including Prada, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel, Miss Shulman wrote: "We have now reached a point where many of the sample sizes don't comfortably fit even the established star models. "Instead, we are having to use girls with jutting bones and no breasts or hips, to fit them." She added: "I am finding that the feedback from my readers and the general feeling in the UK is that people don't really want to see such thin girls."

I think that the fashion houses should be responsible for supplying a range of sample sizes to magazines. If the clothes are too big they can be tailored or pinned but even waif-ish models like Kate Moss (who, by the way I do not think is too thin) are not the same size as the younger runway models and there is very little use killing oneself to reverse hormones and puberty. I guess this was a long one without any real resolution but I think its an interesting jumping off point for discussion.