Baroness Kingsmill and a panel of people in the industry have come together to come up with recommendations - not “rules” - just recommendations on the weight standards for models.
Baroness Kingsmill said:
"The British fashion industry is important to our economy and is a significant leisure activity for many women in the UK. Once the panel is complete, we look forward to rapidly establishing the right framework for gathering the relevant information before analysing it in order that our final report gives the UK fashion industry clear guidance and recommendations."
This is similar to what the Council of Fashion Designers of America has done. Will these “recommendations” work or should there actually be concrete rules on who can and can’t walk down the runway?
Which brings me to a comment left the other day over at a post I wrote awhile back: Once Again, the Soapbox on Modeling. Here’s part of what “Anonymous” said:
“…if you want to criticize anything, criticize the consumer's perception of beauty for generalizing it to one extreme, not the marketing system for promoting it, because for their businesses to survive, they must market what sells.. It is unfair, also, to criticize thin models, without any personal knowledge. Many models are naturally thin because of their metabolic rate.”
It’s some good food for thought. My feeling is that there is a problem with marketing what sells. Yes, it makes good business sense because it generates money, but at what cost? Are you thinking only about making money or do you actually want women to feel beautiful, healthy and fashionable? The mindset of just marketing what sells is very short-sighted and a company who thinks like that won’t last very long.
Resources: CreativeLondon & Telegraph UK
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