PS no fatties

Skinny models banned from catwalk

MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- The world's first ban on overly thin models at a top-level fashion show in Madrid has caused outrage among modeling agencies and raised the prospect of restrictions at other venues.

Madrid's fashion week has turned away underweight models after protests that girls and young women were trying to copy their rail-thin looks and developing eating disorders.

Organizers say they want to project an image of beauty and health, rather than a waif-like, or heroin chic look.

"I think its outrageous, I understand they want to set this tone of healthy beautiful women, but what about discrimination against the model and what about the freedom of the designer," said Gould, Elite's North America director, adding that the move could harm careers of naturally "gazelle-like" models.

The mayor of Milan, Italy, Letizia Moratti, told an Italian newspaper this week she would seek a similar ban for her city's show unless it could find a solution to "sick" looking models.

The Madrid show is using the body mass index or BMI -- based on weight and height -- to measure models. It has turned away 30 percent of women who took part in the previous event. Medics will be on hand at the September 18-22 show to check models.

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19 Responses:

  1. kehoea says:

    [Tags | perversions ]

    Hmm? Seriously fantasising about fuсking someone you're half-convinced will break because she's so skinny is the perverser of the available options, surely?

  2. unwoman says:

    I can only see this as a huge relief to those supposedly-naturally-gazelle-like women who've been starving themselves for their career.

    • ultranurd says:

      I wonder what the split is among the top-line supermodels, between those that have their look purely from their genes, those who have a healthy diet and exercise, and those that are starving themselves for their career.

  3. ladykalessia says:

    The problem with this for models is then that you can either work in Spain, or you can work in the rest of the world. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

    • drkscrtlv says:

      i'm sure if they replaced their skeletal structure with steel or somehow otherwise increased their body mass (injections of a dense liquid? dense suppositories?) they could pass the BMI without abandoning the skin-and-bone look.

  4. kimberley66 says:

    One of the attorneys I work with mentioned this article to me the other day. I think it will be nice for some of those models that do starve themselve to be eating more very soon.

    As I've said in the past, I'd like a model with a side of breasts. This was after seeing a bunch of super thin models wearing corsety type designs and NOT being able to fill them out. . . .

    • ladykalessia says:

      I'd like a model with a side of breasts.

      It's bad that I imagined a skinny model holding a plate of KFC, and saying "it's an 85¢ charge per breast."

      But I do agree with you on the corsetry. No point in lifting something that isn't there.

      • kimberley66 says:

        Nice one on the breast imagery. . . . . are the biscutts and gravy extra?

        Here's the thing, usually corsetry makes you have some cleavage even when you don't have much in boob department. . . . sooo happy I have boobs, even when I'm thin. . . it's a genetic thing :~)

  5. moonchilde says:

    man, spain does what it wants!

  6. ultranurd says:

    A conversation with my office neighbor, who is from Russia by way of Germany:

    He appears at my door.

    Him: "How tall are you?"

    Me: "Um... six feet."

    Him: "Okay, so about 180 [centimeters, I assume]... and how much do you weigh?"

    Me: "I'm not really sure... maybe 160?"

    He does some more unit conversion in his head.

    Him: "70 kilos?"

    He goes back to his office, types something on his computer, and returns.

    Him: "Well [redacted], you could still be a model in Spain!"

    Weirdest. Work conversation. EVAR. I guess he must have been reading about this last week?

  7. nightrider says:

    I sense that my Spanish modeling career is about to take a turn for the better ...

  8. Harm the careers of gazelle like models?

    Oh my god! Where will they ever find more models? Healthy looking ones?????! Coz you know there is a shortage of people trying to get into modeling, and SO many of them will now be deemed "too skinny". Heavens, whatever will we do???

    I'm down with models that look like professional swimmers or gymnasts. YEAH!

  9. korgmeister says:

    I remember seeing another article on this where models complained that if they gained weight, it could harm their career.

    Banning the models is one thing, but my questions is, what can be done about lazy-ass fashion designers who prefer their models to be ridiuclously thin so that they don't have to go through the bother of designing for women with curves?

    • kimberley66 says:

      "what can be done about lazy-ass fashion designers who prefer their models to be ridiuclously thin so that they don't have to go through the bother of designing for women with curves?"

      Very good point. . . .

      not to mention the lack of consistancy in SIZING of womens clothing. . . . which is why I usually end up with mens jeans.