LONDON, August 20, 2008 /FR/ – Plans to eradicate stick thin models from the catwalk by demanding health certificates to prove they do not have anorexia were dropped by the British Fashion Council, the entity managing the London Fashion Week.
Following an increasing tendency to hire for runway shows “size zero” super-skinny models, the idea originally came out among the Model Health Inquiry, set up by the BFC in March last year to investigate health problems suffered by models in the British fashion industry.
From unofficial sources, the plans were backed by the British government, but after financial fears have been raised, their implementation has been ditched. Had it been enforced, models who would want to work in the United Kingdom would have had to pay approximately $1,000 for health certificates to prove they are healthy enough to walk on the runway. Fears that it would prevent international models from coming to work in Great Britain did arise then in the industry. The London Fashion Week might also have had to face a financial and image drop as models and designers could have been tempted to avoid the event of London Fashion Week because of health certificate requirements. The Fashion Week in the British capital has been recently regaining some of its sparkle respect to the three world leading fashion weeks, Paris, Milan and New York, and the BFC probably felt it was not the right time to enforce a stronger policy concerning models than its “rival” world fashion weeks and national fashion councils.
It was officially confirmed by BFC Chief Executive Hilary Riva on august 14 in an open letter to the fashion industry that the plan will be dropped.
At a time when Anorexia is no longer a problem concerning only young women, as revealed by a new British survey published by the Daily Mail, stipulating that the number of young men being treated for anorexia has gone up by nearly 67% in the last five years; at a time when in England, according to British government figures, appointments in hospitals for anorexia have actually risen by 32% in the past year, public opinion might disapprove this move by the BFC.
However, the question of industrial increased percentages made in the field of fashion over a possible gain of profit due to the flat figure of the women meant to wear the pieces on the runway and setting new standards of beauty for the street and the human body, is seldom spoken about.
Nevertheless, it could be – as it is often in our world today – that economics and the decreased cost of production have been the real cause for setting up a new image of women and girls with hardly any curves.
Making garments for curvy body requires much more work on every piece than making them for a flat silhouette and thus increases the amount of time and work spent on the manufacturing of such apparel.
Couldn’t the fashion industry be suspected as a whole of having set and promoted a slimmer figure –consciously or unconsciously- for industrial reasons of increased profitability. It’s sad to say, but it could be the case, although this idea expressed here, only represents the thought of the present writer. But, come to think of it from a business point of view, it would make sense, wouldn’t it ?
If such is the case, it would be terrifying to witness that business and profit might have become the only idols in the 21st century, to the point of forgetting that the consequences of it are killing some teenagers and young girls and boys, particularly at an age when they want to look their best. Profitability paired to some psychological weakness would then have transformed some adolescents and young adults into easy preys. Let us hope this is not the case, let us hope we can still do something about it!
MARISA LAVINO
