Saturday, September 16, 2006
news - fashion
As you may have heard, the Spanish Association of Fashion Designers recently announced a ban on fashion models with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18 percent (the lower end of the "healthy" scale). Straight off the bat it makes me think "great, no more skinny waifs that look like they'll break." But only in Spain.
It is gaining popularity, however, in the few days it's been out there. Today's BBC News UK had an article from the British Culture Secretary urging the British Fashion Council to adopt similar guidelines for their models. As New York Fashion Week comes to a close this weekend and both the Madrid and London Fashion Weeks gear up to kick off on Monday, it's quite the time to make such an announcement.
Unfortunately, at this point in a designer's preparation for such a show, the British Fashion Council has not succumbed to peer or governmental pressure. In the same BBC article, the BFC sees this as interfering with the designer's vision and refuses to impose such a standard.
It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks how this will affect the fashion industry around the world. As the wildly popular (especially in this house) America's Next Top Model kicks off its seventh season this week, will they address this new standard? European fashion has always been at the apex of the industry, and if this is going to stay, it will send ripples throughout the modelling industry the world over.
For those of us that are in the normal BMI range (18-23), let's raise our cups to the positive influence we've had (as a whole, probably not individually) on the European fashion industry.
Check out the BBC news article for a report and links to other reports on the subject.
It is gaining popularity, however, in the few days it's been out there. Today's BBC News UK had an article from the British Culture Secretary urging the British Fashion Council to adopt similar guidelines for their models. As New York Fashion Week comes to a close this weekend and both the Madrid and London Fashion Weeks gear up to kick off on Monday, it's quite the time to make such an announcement.
Unfortunately, at this point in a designer's preparation for such a show, the British Fashion Council has not succumbed to peer or governmental pressure. In the same BBC article, the BFC sees this as interfering with the designer's vision and refuses to impose such a standard.
It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks how this will affect the fashion industry around the world. As the wildly popular (especially in this house) America's Next Top Model kicks off its seventh season this week, will they address this new standard? European fashion has always been at the apex of the industry, and if this is going to stay, it will send ripples throughout the modelling industry the world over.
For those of us that are in the normal BMI range (18-23), let's raise our cups to the positive influence we've had (as a whole, probably not individually) on the European fashion industry.
Check out the BBC news article for a report and links to other reports on the subject.
# posted by ange : 11:39 AM
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