The biggest controversy in fashion
27-04-2011
There have been many issues brought up about models being a size 6 and even a size zero. This has become very controversial because most of the public are so used to seeing size 6 bodies of models advertising clothes and the majority of the public are not that size so it puts them off buying clothes. In addition, many celebrities have also given out a message to the public that being a very petite size is the most fashionable trend, and so this brings us to the topic of anorexia and people wanting to lose weight so badly just to look like what they see on TV. However, celebrities in my opinion are there to be role models to others and by many of the well known superstars being size 6; this has brought their fans to starve themselves just to be like them.
Images in the media of size 6 women have also given out a message that being skinny is the only way to look beautiful, but that it very wrong.
“Beauty is not a pants size; I think it’s about what I have to say and how I live my life, which is in a healthy way, I believe, for me. I want them to know I’m healthy.” Crystal Renn
Renn started modelling in high fashion at the age of 14 after soon being spotted by a proffesional company in her home town in Clinton Mississippi, she was then told that she had to lose a third of her body weight if she wanted to become a model. She suffered many years of anorexia nervosa and reassessed her diet and excersise habits to become her idea of the perfect size. Renn then gained 70 pounds and re-emerged to a U.S size 12 and was re-marketed by her agents as a model. She has recently done a photo shoot and was shocked to see herself published in magazines and being retouched to be a size 6 when she is originally a size 12. This is a prime example of size discrimination in fashion.
If most celebrities gave out messages like that, then there would not be so much controversy about petite sizes in fashion at the moment and the bad influence it has on the public. Further more, because technology is rapidly developing, access to such information can be found in the click of a mouse with images of “stereotypical” women typically skinny. However, celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez who is a size 12 is a very positive role model for young girls because she looks great at 40 years old, and shows others that being a size 12 makes you look as good if not better than a size 6 whilst eliminating typical stereotypes.
“It wouldn’t work. I have a butt, I have boobs and I have a woman’s curves; there is no way I’d see them go to zero. I hate to look in a magazine and see a picture of a girl who looks so thin she looks unhappy and as if she just needs someone to give her a good meal.” Jennifer Lopez
Despite the fact that size zero models were chosen over normal sized models for modelling, New York fashion week has come a long way since the days of when they only had size zero models to being the first people to have a plus size fashion show.
History also shows that on the 16th of September 2010, New York Fashion Week held a fashion show was held specifically for larger sized models just so they could prove their point that being big doesn’t make you less beautiful. This was held by Galina Monaco who is the designer of the company. This was the first fashion show of this type in 46 years of New York Fashion week andit amazed everyone to see normal sized women on TV and not petite models.
In conclusion, I believe that all women should be happy with the way they look because everyone is different and everyone is special in there own way. I also want to finish this report by saying that if you are a size 6, I do not intend to criticise you in anyway, I was just talking about the controversy of size issues in fashion as a whole, and therefore I think that women of bigger sizes such as size 10/12 should be allowed to model clothes because they look more realistic than the women who are size 6.
By Caroline Bayram
