FashBlog.com

As spectators, designers, and models alike braced themselves for the main fashion events of the year and flocked to Fashion Weeks all over the world in popular cities such as New York City, Milan, and London, a larger issue was at bay that caused a tsunami-like wave in the fashion world. The issue at hand started over various individuals protesting that the underweight models were projecting an image that glorified being a size zero, and as a result, the speculation that young girls and women, were trying to achieve these small proportions and as a result, developing eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. In case you may not be familiar with either of these eating disorders, I'll give your a brief explanation. Anorexia Nervosa is a condition that is characterized by the individual having an intense fear of becoming fat. In order to prevent gaining weight and in hopes of shedding more pounds, he or she may use laxatives, excessive exercise, or just not eating to accomplish their desired weight. Despite the fact that the individual may dwindle to ridiculously low proportions, their distorted self-image constantly reinforces the fact that they must lose weight and the deeper he or she sinks into the illness the more intense the distorted self-image becomes. Friends, family, and close friends can all see that there is a problem and the individual appears malnourished and sickly, but the individual in the midst of the eating disorder only sees the distorted self-image. Karen Carpenter, a famous singer suffered from Anorexia and her losing battle with the illness opened the public's eyes to the severity of this and other eating disorders when she passed away in 1983 from cardiac complications. Individuals who suffer from Bulimia Nervosa also have the same fear of becoming fat; however, they will experience binging and purging episodes that consist of eating mass amounts of food and then once they have finished gorging themselves, they will self induce vomiting. Eating disorders are very difficult to overcome and the complications can potentially lead to death. Complications range from kidney damage, liver damage, a weakened immune system, loss of menstrual periods potentially resulting in infertility, anemia, malnutrition, destruction of teeth, rupture of the esophagus, and an irregular heartbeat which can cause the individual's body to go into cardiac arrest potentially resulting in death.

It is without at doubt that when someone says the word "supermodel", you think of an individual, either male or female, who has impeccable looks all packaged together with flawless skin, bouncy hair, fabulous smile and of course a slim and trim body. In the world of modeling, there are set expectations that one must meet in order to even have a remote chance of succeeding in the industry. One of these expectations is to have a slim or "toned" physique and eventually this expectation took an extreme and sparked a trend known as "heroin chic". Since its peak point in the nineties, the heroin chic look has been a staple in the fashion industry and is known for flaunting women with waif-like physical features, sunken in cheekbones, and dark circles under their eyes. The term "heroin chic" was given due to the fact that these models had physical features that resembled heroin addicts. While models are expected to maintain their looks and weight, they tend to be on the thinner side verses the meatier side. When I say meatier, I don't mean overweight. I mean slightly a little more curvy, probably what most of us would consider a sexy looking body with an hourglass shape. It is a well-known fact that the average American woman stands approximately 5'4 and weighs approximately 153 pounds. The average model stands approximately 5'9 and weighs approximately 110. To put this in perspective, the height difference is dramatic and the weight difference is significant therefore making the goal to duplicate the look of a model almost near impossible to do, yet alone do in a healthy fashion.

The new requirements for models started in Madrid, where organizers of the event made new requirements with the underlying goal being to not project a waif-like image (also known as heroin chic) but to display beauty while demonstrating a healthy body. Doctors were available at the shows to take measurements from the models and either declare them of a normal BMI (Body Mass Index) or declare them below the normal BMI and as a result, the model would not be allowed to walk the runways in fashion week. The models must have a BMI ratio of eighteen in proportion to the combination of their height and weight. Most models stand 5'9 and weight approximately 110 pounds. The new requirements would require a 5'9 model to weigh in at 123. That is a thirteen-pound difference and as many people would agree, thirteen pounds is quite significant on anyone, and even more so on an already thin individual.

When it comes to these new expectations that were put forth in Madrid, a lot of questions have risen to the surface challenging the fairness of these new requirements to the models, the designers, and the fashion industry as a whole. For example, since it is the designer's show, should the designer be allowed to decide whom he or she wants to serve as a model for their clothing? It is undoubtable that certain shapes accent certain styles to the maximum. So, the question at hand is does telling the designers that super thin models are unable to participate therefore thwart their attempt at maximizing the display of their clothes during fashion week? When it comes to the models, is it unfair to all of a sudden spring forth requirements that literally challenge what the expectations and standards have been for quite some time now? It is debatable whether or not that is discrimination against the models. Lastly, the fashion industry revolves around none other than fashion and they basically set the tone for fashion everywhere. The goal is to present fashions in the most complimentary way that is possible. If they are trying to maximize fashion and feel as though they are displaying individuals that are near perfection, no matter how thin they are, is it fair to blame them for the rise in eating disorders among young girls and women? All things considered, most interviews I've seen with supermodels usually consist of the typical interview question that asks, "How do you stay in such great shape". To my recollection, the usual answer promotes a healthy diet, exercise, and adequate amounts of sleep.

While it is easy to cast a stone solely at the fashion industry and blame them for the rise in eating disorders, I believe that the causes of eating disorders stem a multitude of things and if we are going to blame a particular industry, we should look at all the industries. The glorified size zero is a staple in most areas of entertainment from fashion runways to the red carpets in Hollywood. The problem is fueled by more than just the fashion industry. Everything from the pop music scene to glamorous Hollywood endorses a super-thin physique and in magazines weekly, there is always another observation that raises the question as to whether or not another actress displaying the heroin chic traits, possibly has an eating disorder. While every industry and individual may cast the blame elsewhere, it is important to recognize that the problem is influenced by various forms of entertainment and as long as actors, actresses, and singers are held responsible to display what has become classified as perfection, there will constantly be individuals striving to meet those physical measurements. So until society as a whole embraces a different mentality changing to different expectations and perceptions of physical beauty, the problem will continue to persist.