1.10.2010

a sizable soapbox

mind if i take a hearty step onto my soapbox on this bright, blustery sunday morning? okay, here's the thing: yes, models are getting smaller. yes, eating disorders are not a good a thing. and i get that some people don't want to look at a woman who looks like she's dying of starvation. and althought i appreciate v magazine's new size issue, featuring plus-sized models (and some along industry-sized models in the same outfits) does it make sense to promote this in the opposite direction by featuring women who are actually overweight - representing a health issue of equal importance?



this is coco a go go for v magazine, shot by karl lagerfeld. a pretty woman, yes, but is it sensible to say that a woman of her size represents a legitimate size for high fashion/couture modeling?

i think the women in the v shoot are beautiful. that's not my issue. i just wish that people would stop approaching this issue by taking it to the very extreme - throwing larger women in their editorials for shock value, rather than as a legitimate approach to show off and market clothing. that is a model's job - to exhibit clothing in a way that makes what designers have created look good. to do anything else is to belie the nature of the job.

i agree with the london stylist who's telegraph comment was featured on the cut a while back:

“It’s such an extreme response to the size-zero hoopla.
“I think all women want to see images of healthy girls, not women who are emaciated. But, realistically I don't think many women aspire to be a size 18, either. I don't think using outsize models is really the way to change perceptions — it's just an extreme volt-face.Read more: Debating V’s Size Issue -- The Cut http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/01/debating_vs_size_issue.html#ixzz0cDbrgcOC

all i'm asking is that if these people want to change the industry, that they actually work to create change, not to shock, and back the fashion industry into a corner.


other images from the controversial v magazine shoot:


image source: models.com, nytimes

2 comments:

  1. I agree - it's a bit ridiculous that it's such an issue in the first place that people have to constantly find new ways to put emphasis on size and weight, rather than on the women themselves...

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  2. thank you! we're on the same page, mama.

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