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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