London Fashion Week – Ban on size zero rejected
Written by chameleonfridays on August 13th, 2008
When the London development agency and the British Fashion Council, set up their independent model health inquiry last year, no one could have guessed the rejection their recommendations faced. Following the death of Brazilian model, Luisel Ramos in 2006, the size zero debate was brought into the public consciousness. The BBC were quick to pick up on the issue, commissioning a documentary by Dawn Porter to highlight the issue. ITV responded with a Louise Redknapp programme and many other media sources were keen to distance themselves from the negative press.
One of the 14 recommendations put forward by the inquiry board was to implement a system of compulsory medical tests for models, and subsequent model health certificates (MHC). These would enable the catwalk shows to promote their endorsement of healthy models. However, the organisers of the Paris, New York and Milan shows refused to implement the scheme, forcing London to pull out, fearing models would boycott the catwalks if they went ahead. The British fashion council are now encouraging modelling agencies to act responsibly, through the endorsement of the Association of Model Agencies (AMA).
The head of the British Fashion Council, Hilary Riva, published an open letter today stating; “The Model Health Certificates continue to create very specific challenges. From our conversations with our international counterparts in New York, Milan and Paris it has become clear that they do not recognise the need for an international health certificate. In summary, Model Health Certificates are an unworkable solution based on concerns in principle and practicalities of implementation. The BFC now feel that we have taken this as far as we can within the remit of our organisation. We are not a regulatory body and we have access to limited resources. We believe the AMA should take the lead role in developing and encouraging an international network, to set best practice in each market and develop a version of the MHC which will be a useful tool for models who work internationally.”
The clothing brand Nolita, took the dramatic step of using anorexic model Isabello Caro across billboards in Milan and subsequently, the 2007 Milan fashion week showed much more shapely models. The lesser known Madrid fashion week in 2007, bandne girls with a body mass index of below 18 from its catwalks – 18.5 to 25 is considered the “normal” range.
Sadly this year, it seems ’size zero’ is last years news, supporting the health of models is apparently no longer ‘in vogue’. Fashion to die for.
