Fall Winter 2010: A very thin model at Hervé Léger.

A few days into New York fashion week, and the models are looking scarily thin. I always felt that this was something we saw more of in New York, and so I really hope there will be some meatier flesh in London, Milan, and Paris. Model’s weight has been a major discussion point recently, and I am pretty torn on the subject. Although I feel that the whole size zero debate is blown out of proportion, and that the media should focus more on obesity, there are clearly some very scarily thin girls on the catwalks.

There’s been some really interesting points made in the press recently, starting with this quote featured in a VERY interesting The Daily Beast article about models and size. A former successful model was quoted as saying:

“Sure, we had to be skinny. I lived on Diet Coke and apples for two years. For the couture, we had to get up at 4 am to be sewn into the clothes and there was huge pressure to be thin. But I made a million dollars by the time I was 20, I bought a town house in Manhattan and put myself through Columbia. Does that make me a victim?”

This was a really interesting quote, putting a totally new perspective on starving models.

According to Fashionologie, Australian model Abbie Lee Kershaw “seems to feel similarly when asked what she thinks about the pressure to be ultra-thin: ‘That’s like asking a bodybuilder how they feel about the pressures to be incredibly muscly. An elite performer is always put under some sort of extreme pressure that the rest of society can argue, might not quite understand.’”

Fall Winter 2010: another very thin model at Victoria Beckham.

So after considering these two interesting quotes, how important do you think the size zero issue is? Are models to blame, or is Hollywood worse? I feel that celebrities have much more of an impact on young people than models do, as they tend to be much more in the public eye. Later on in the Daily Beast article, they explain that according to “Clinical Knowledge Summaries 2009, the statistics department of the British National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, says that 19 out of one million women are diagnosed as anorexic, as opposed to 240,000 per million for obesity.” That statistic really confirmed my thoughts that under-eating is much smaller a problem than over-eating.

On the other hand, there was a really upsetting article in Page Six Magazine about Gemma Ward, another Australian model, who has recently put on 30 pounds and has been shunned by the industry. Apparently there are many teenage models, who are discarded once they experience the natural weight gain women go through when they grow breasts and hips.

Gemma Ward at the height of her fame.

I really don’t know where I stand on this subject. I do know that when I worked in Paris, samples sizes were in 4 and 6, never size 0. But I also worked with a lot of the Brazilian models, who were very curvy. I always thought a curvy size 4 model looks better than a stick thin size zero. I feel it is sad that some models feel such a pressure to stay thin, but at the same time, I believe it is part of the job. I was watching a program about skiers competing in moguls this weekend, and apparently their quads are four times the size of a normal person, and the damage they do to their knees is irreversible. They are guaranteed serious problems later in life, so how is that any different from starving yourself for a few years to make some money?

A more recent photo of Gemma Ward.

Forbes has a list of the top fifteen highest earning models, and many of them are curvy lingerie models (Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio are all Victoria’s Secret models, and they make up the top five with Kate Moss and Heidi Klum.) It goes to show that a hot, healthy body is going to earn you more millions than protruding hip bones.

One thing I would like to see is more models and celebrities endorsing fitness, which is beneficial for both the underweights and the overweights. I’d also like to see less deathly thin models on the catwalk, and more Gisele types. And, how about the media reduces their attacks on famous women for being too thin or too fat. That would be a good start.

Gemma Ward images source. Catwalk images from Style.com.

I thought it would be appropriate at this time of year to do a post about food. Since I spent so many years away from my hometown, Christmas was always about family and food. Presents were usually the flight I took home, and on a couple of good years, it was vintage Louis Vuitton luggage, but generally its more about the company than the presents. I have a very big family, and there is generally not a lot of fighting going on, which means Christmas is usually a very good time.

So we tend to eat a lot over Christmas, and my highlights are always the chicken liver pate, oyster stuffing, trifle, and Grandma’s curry (we are a very multicultural household, so there are a few unusual dishes…) Of course there is a bit of guilt associated with all the feasts, but I try not to worry too much, and I’ll make sure I am on the treadmill tomorrow morning, just like I was this morning.

Sizes, weights, and bodies are always an major obsession in the fashion industry, and it can be quite difficult at times. Dressing models certainly doesn’t help with body image, nor does being surrounded by people who don’t eat. But the fashion industry is not all to blame, in fact, I think there are far worse factors than that. So, as a Christmas present to all of you, I am going to set the record straight about food and fashion.

“French women eat all that butter and cheese and pastries, and they still don’t get fat.” Well, let’s start by feeling sorry for french women. Yes, they tend to be slim, beautiful, and well-dressed, but their main reason for needing to be like this is that for some ridiculous reason it is acceptable for their husbands to cheat on them. If I was constantly competing with all of the young, beautiful women swanning around Paris, I too would be keeping myself in tip top shape. Yes, they eat bread with butter, but they eat one slice. And that’s their lunch. And breakfast was probably a black coffee. The fact is, the more calories you take in without burning, the fatter you will be. There are no exceptions, not even for French women, so while they are eating their pastries, remember that is probably all they are eating today.

I remember when Carine Roitfeld (Editor of French Vogue, and the ultimate French Fashionista) used to style our shows at Sonia Rykiel. She would drink water and take a lot of pills, but I don’t remember seeing her eat. I will not deny that she is a fabulous woman, but I do think once women get into their 50s, its important not to be too thin. It just looks bad. Carine is not at that point yet (and she is in her 50s), but she definitely can’t afford to lose any weight. There is no myth about French women, they don’t eat a lot, that is how they stay slim.

“The fashion industry is to blame for body image issues.” I won’t lie, models are under pressure to be thin. But lets face it, a model is a freak of nature. How many people are born six feet tall, with size 2 bodies? Not many, they are anomalies. And, when you sign up to modeling, you sign up to staying thin all the time. That is your job, simple as that. Actresses, on the other hand, are a different matter. You don’t need to be six feet tall, or a size 2 to be a successful actress, yet for some reason Hollywood has become obsessed with dieting and plastic surgery.

And the media doesn’t help by publishing photos of actresses and singers who are “too thin”, “too fat”, and with “too much cellulite.”

Hollywood is much more to blame for body issues than the fashion industry is, and even within the industry, models are not the ones to blame. Journalists are just as bad, if not worse, with their eating habits. I once saw a fashion week food diary from a designer, a model, and a journalist, and the journalist ate by far the least, in fact, she was dangerously below a healthy calorie intake. My friend works as a designer at Dior, and she told me about an American press lunch she attended. She was sat around a table with a bunch of American journalists, and most of them didn’t eat their lunch. In fact, one actually said “I don’t do food.” So let’s leave the poor models alone. Most of them are 16, having to get naked in front of loads of strangers, and will have to retire when they are 28, because they will be too old. So it is not that great of a job.

“The size zero phenomenon is affecting our society.” Ok, yes, I won’t deny that size zero is not a very good thing to be exposed to when you are a vulnerable 14 year old girl. But the fact is, there are way to many over weight people than there are underweight people. I think it is important to realize when you are overweight, and when you are dangerously overweight, but as long as you are happy and healthy, you shouldn’t put pressure on yourself. The UK was one of the main “voices” in the size zero debate, and they also have terrible media that criticizes celebrities and follows them like crazy. But the UK is very close to catching up to the US in terms of percentage of overweight people.

I’m a size 8, and in the UK I feel like I am average, or sometimes below average, whereas in France I feel fat. The problem with a lot of Brits is that they are overweight from drinking and eating huge amounts of unhealthy, processed foods. I once heard that it is totally acceptable to say to someone “You shouldn’t smoke” or “You are too thin” but when is it acceptable to say to someone “You are too fat.”? Its not really acceptable at any time. I feel that the media just finds a scapegoat (thin models) rather than dealing with the real issues, which in the UK and the US, is definitely the people who are eating too much, not too little.

On that note, I hope you all have a very happy Christmas. I’ll be back in a few days, so I am going to leave you a few images from the upcoming V Magazine “Size” issue. I read about this on New York Magazine’s The Cut, and what they have done is shoot a “normal” size model next to a plus size model. Terry Richardson did the photos, and the girls are Crystal Renn (the plus size one) and Jacquelyn Jablonski. Although there is a pretty distinctive difference between their sizes, I am sure we can all agree that Crystal looks pretty hot in some of the shots.

Enjoy your families, food, and presents, and make sure you do it guilt-free!