Fashion Model Health Guidelines Fall Short

Recently Diane Von Furstenberg, in a talk on the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, lauded the Council of Fashion Designers of America Health Initiative designed to "change the aesthetic on the New York runways and in magazines from extreme thinness to a more realistic ideal." I'm sad to say that they fall terribly short.

It's good that the guidelines encourage designers not to hire models younger than 16, and to provide healthy meals, snacks and water backstage. What is missing is any mention of weight guidelines. Oh, yes, designers are also encouraged to provide education on nutrition and fitness and eating disorders. A lot of good any of this does if the girls who get the modeling jobs are risking their future health and maybe their lives because it is still the anorexic-looking girls who are hired. The fashion industry needs to step up like many colleges have and send home those whose health is clearly in jeopardy because their weight is below a BMI of 17.5 (the BMI diagnostic of anorexia nervosa).

Copyrighted by Marcia Herrin and Nancy Matsumoto