Personally, It's About Darn Time ... Milan is Barring Ultra-Skinny Models

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

19 Dec 2006 09:45 PM

Milan is the Italian fashion capital and if you've ever taken a look at the catwalk models or read the news stories about them, you may have been one of those staring in askance at those models with their sub-zero sizes and their waif like appearances. One such model, a Brazilian, died a few months ago from complications due to her severely emaciated body. She weighed just 88 pounds when she died.

Well, Milan has been listening to the outrage and now they are acting on the pressure to stop presenting such an unhealthy body image to the world and forcing their models, including those underage, to stop harming themselves to fulfill this image. How are they doing this?

Milan is Formally Banning the Super Skinny and the Under-Age Models

February is catwalk season where the fitness industry puts this year's fashion creations on display. The City of Milan and the fashion industry have signed an agreement - models under the age of 16 and models with a BMI of less than 18.5 will not be allowed to model along the catwalks. The agreement also requires that the fashion industry focus on healthy eating and exercise courses as well as a wider variety of clothing sizes to be shown in their fashion shows.

Can you say it's about time?

Looking at these models and their ultra-thin appearances with their below 0 sizes is not only intimidating, it's a frighteningly unhealthy image to promote to our youth. Essentially, a woman who stands 5 foot 8 and weights less than 122 pounds would not be allowed to model.

Milan has now joined Madrid in banning low weight models. One can only hope the rest of the fashion world follows suit. It would be nice to see the emaciated model become an image of a distant past and a commentary only on the unhealthy habits of our past.

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Kid Fitness - Beware the Backlash

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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Pam Connell (2658) 04 Nov 2008 04:08 AM

The average American woman's size is a 14 (and probably going up). Yet models who are size twelve are only offered jobs in Plus-size catalogs. (which means it's hard to tell if the clothes will flatter us, since the models aren't really plus-sized at all. It's about time to get real, people.