Feature Article

Skinny Minnie


In the world of fashion, does it make sense that designers are making clothes for a population that only exists on the runway?

There has been a lot of controversy this past year surrounding celebrities and models looking deathly ill due to their weight. The amount of pictures that have been made public of actresses like Kate Bosworth, Keira Knightley, and Hilary Duff looking too skinny for words has put pressure on the fashion industry to stop putting so much emphasis on the weight of models. But is the answer to this problem making models eat a few “Big Macs” or is there more than one view to this issue.

People who are familiar with the fashion industry and fashion shows know that the average model is anywhere from a size 0 to a size 1 as well as being around 5’9” to 5’11” in height. But what some people and most designers forget is that the average woman is around 152 pounds and is roughly 5’3.7” in height. The clothes that a designer is making for a model cannot be the same cut and style for the average woman walking down the street, it simply does not work. Despite the fact the styles and trends are adapted for the regular world and changed for average people does not mean that a size 16 woman should be wearing the same type of clothing as a size 2 woman. Trends should not be universal for all sizes because it makes people either afraid of fashion, which is a horrendous thought, or it makes them look ridiculous just because they want to be trendy, and what is wrong with wanting to be trendy? One of the things that has been said a lot in regards to models and designer garments is that the clothes would look better on women with a little more “meat” on their bones, girls who have a healthier appearance and a curvier body. But the women who are saying that are the women with the curvier bodies. Those are some of the reasons why designers and models are getting such a bad reputation; they are ignoring the public’s needs and wants.

Another issue with underweight models being highly viewed in the public is the effect they have on the younger generation. Little girls are seeing super- skinny models and actresses on television and are looking up to them and all they see are the things they want to have when they grow up; fame, fortune, beauty, and a weight less than their age. Although there is some controversy in whether the fashion industry is solely responsible for the increase in eating disorders with young women; they are definitely a contributing factor to why things like dieting and exercising to the point of exhaustion are becoming increasingly common.

The other side of the spectrum deals with more of the opinions of the designers and the modeling agencies. One of the biggest reasons why designers make clothes for rail thin women with seemingly large heads, otherwise termed “lollipop girls” is because they are the ones with the money to buy the clothes in the first place. Most of us “average people” do not have to money to buy the clothes, let alone the body to fit into those clothes. Really the designer is marketing towards the audience at their shows who will order something right off the runway and who will make them the most money. The designer is not targeting the people who will wear their designs after they have been adapted and stripped of their designer name. To a lot of designers their designs and clothing is an escape; it is a way for them to express themselves without too many repercussions. So a lot of them believe it is their right to display their garments on whatever size a model they see fit. Some people also think that fashion and especially runway shows are a kind of fantasy so in a way it makes sense to have the clothing on people who look like they would only appear in the movies and on television. So in this way fashion goes hand-in-hand with people who play different characters as their career.

With the events that occurred this year in Madrid, another opinion in this everlasting debate was opened; is it alright that models are super skinny so long as they are healthy? During Madrid’s fashion week the organizers decided they did not want the typical “lollipop girls” to be modeling the clothes on the runway, they would rather portray a healthier image of beauty. According to CNN.com the organizers used the body mass index or BMI to decide which girls would walk and which ones would sit this one out. The body mass index uses a persons height and weight to determine if they are underweight, overweight, or at a normal, optimal weight. This was a very good thing for them to use because it makes it less about who looks too skinny and more about who can actually be that skinny while maintaining their health. The reason why the organizers did this was due to protests about younger girls wanting to look like models and eventually developing eating disorders.

These issues have come to the forefront in recent years but they have been a part of the fashion industry for decades. So will the fashion industry ever change, should it change, and who’s right is it to make some changes happen? In the fashion industry there are 2 kinds of people the super thin and the plus size; there is no middle ground for the average person. Should there be an average sized model? Is that how everyone will finally be happy with the fashion industry or will it just cause more problems? This is an issue that does not have an easy answer; it is up to the individual to make their own judgments and come up with their own conclusions. The only sure thing is that so long as there is fashion there will be controversy.