Mannequins Plump Up
Wednesday January 24, 2007
When thin models began collapsing on the runways last year, Spain was the first country to step up to the plate and start regulations banning underweight models from walking in fashion shows.
Now, in their continued pursuit of change, the Spanish Ministry of Health has created a deal with retailers and fashion designers, to throw out all skinny store mannequins and replace them with thicker "healthier-looking" versions.
Do you think this is a good initiative or are they taking things too far? Do you hope that the American fashion industry will follow suit? Leave a comment and let us know your opinion on the situation!
Mannequin image ©2007 Tom Jones, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Comments
wow i think thats a really good idea…hopefully the americans will follow.
definitely a good idea! models are so unrealistically thin…noone is like that. msot of them starve themselves half to death just to get “the look”, but the truth is that, for most of the sane population of the world, that look is just something to admire and maybe long for. besides, models are so objectified in today’s society! really hope the americans will follow suit and get a more reaistic image out to the public.
it is about time—– some one please feed those poor starved girls, why do the designers make clothes that are for people who look like they are starving to death, part of the problem is the model but also those who design clothes
lets here it for those women who are just healthy with a bit of a curve
That is a great step they taking towards encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Models are influential people who should take into account that young women often try to follow the trend of being way too skinny.
I think that is a fabulous idea. Its about thime that a healthy look is promoted over a skinny waif look. I can only hope that the trend of taking care of ones self will spread like wildfire across the globe.
The mannequin is lookin sexy instead of hungry. Super!
Models have to to be thin. i think that models should weight between 90 to 110. You have to been thin when your modeling off a haute couture designer dress or an out fit. Its high fashion. There’s no fat in the fashion world. unless your like target.
While I believe more shapes and sizes should be accepted in the fashion industry, there is nothing wrong with a skinny model if it is her natural body type. Being an skinny person myself, I would not want to be banned for being me, just like anyone else.
Well, I think it’s a good idea, but the problem with it is that they’re creating a new self-esteem problem in girls. Larger girls(or even average girls) have been told by the fashion world that that is not acceptable, and that appeared everywhere- the media, magazines etc…Bow, while they may think that by only allowing healhy-weight models to model, they are making a healthier image, the problem is that now girls who are skinny are getting the message that larger girls were getting before: that it’s not right.
Are we really taking a step forward?
YES. YES, YES, YES!
Oh, forget what those cynics say. FINALLY the image of ‘healthy’ will be advertised instead of the ‘drop dead druggie’ image.
I do agree that naturally skinny people should not be told that they cannot model. I don’t think that this will be a problem in the near future, though.
Also, shame on the designers for making such sample sizes! Who are they to decide what size other people have to be? How is it even possible for an adult to be 90 pounds, anyway?!
HOW HAVE WE LIVED FOR SO LONG THINKING THAT THIS IS NORMAL???
I think it’s a great idea for the entire world to do that. Too thin is ugly anyways and not healthy.
I don’t agree with Val about how skinny girls will now think that there is something wrong with them. the majority of the population is NOT skin and bones how will they feel as if there is something wrong with them by changing the maniquens? They’ve been living around those of average weight all their lives. Are you telling me skinny girls only feel normal BECAUSE of those maniquens? lol And besides now they won’t have watch their weight so closley only eating certain kinds of food, not to mention very little of it. Being so skinny that you start to collapse during or after a walk on the runway is not normal! hello? obviously these girls are malnourished. are you telling me that that’s normal and natural for them? Some people need to get help if that’s the case! lol
Also designers are trying to sell clothes are they not? how are they supposed to sell if their clothes are only to be appealing to like not even 5% of the world’s population?
Absolutely love this idea! I’m a size 12 (which is not fat it’s average so get over it) and to me the size of those mannequins is sickening… makes me feel like a whale. The size they are now is very unrealistic and unhealthy, not to mention the real life models who look the same way! So yes, this is a good idea, America needs to step up to the plate now.
fINALLY!!! I mean thats a good step to take and hopefully in future magazines and the media will put more decent pictures of girls, you know not size 0 i mean ok i understand if someone is naturally skinny so they should keep sizes 8, 10 and 12 but no size 2 or 0 thats just awful!! i heard that story lately about this brazillian model who starved herself for her job and where did she end up? in her grave!!! she was only 40 kgs which is like the average 5 foot 12yr old should be and the model was like five foot eight or somethinga nd 21 yrs old sad isnt it SO THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING DONE TO MAKE THIS WORLD A HAPPIER PLACE FOR EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT SIZE OR SHAPE THEY ARE!
why cant they make clothes for skinny people, medium people AND bigger people? seriously. first they went way against fat people. now its starting to go the other way and everyones thinking that being thin isnt natural. either way its discriminating against what people naturally are, or how they want to be. yeah sure if the models arent eating so that they can be thinner, thats wrong… but WHY CANT WE JUST MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY AND ALLOW ALL KINDS OF MODELS ON THE CATWALK???
It is great that they are allowing larger size women, seeing as how i am healthy, but not exactly fit for a bikini. Also something we should change about models is height…why do all the models have to be tall? us short people are pretty hot too.
i do think thats a great idea but some people are just born skinny no matter what they eat..i think that all people should be excepted not just the skinny and not just the bigger. We were all created for a purpose so to be models and some to do something else but whatever you do your body shape shouldnt be something to stop someone from doing something they love!!
that is a great idea. many girls that look up to models want to look like them. the manequins represent these models and when these manequins are so small they make the heavier girls feel bad. america should realize that everyone comes in different shapes and sizes but should still be proud of their figure. :]
I agree. yes, some people are naturally tall and thin, but they should continue to eat healthily and exercise no matter what. also, in italy some model died of malnutrition, so as an italian, i stand for health!
I agree. yes, some people are naturally tall and thin, but they should continue to eat healthily and exercise no matter what. also, in italy a model, who was also a close friend of my cousins, died of malnutrition, so as an italian, i stand for health!
I think it’s really unfair that skinny models are now tobe banned from the catwalks. I understand the reasons, but I think some more factors should in the end sum up to the conclusion whther a model should be allowed to perform or not. If she is NOT thin by nature (How to know?-> Pictures of the model in her youth, etc could under circumstances be requested to include in the curriculum vitae, or the exact diet plans), but is starvving herself to be on “stage” she should indeed be banned for her own health. Being VERY slender by nature myself, I find it really discriminating to bann just any skinny model. I also find it awful that people go around being nice and all to all the different (over-)sizes and never say anything like- man, you’re really overweight, but if it’s a thin person, they go up to you and tell you, man, you’re so super thin, it’s unnatural, are you, like, anorexic? With the intention of hurting your feelings, or, at least, not thinking about it. Even little things can hurt, but nobody considers us fragile girls and women. It’s not that we look unhealthy, just thin. And one shouldn’t dirciminate against somebody just because of their natural body proportions. Ok, so, RANT OVER, sorry I wrote so much, but I had a lot to say, too (And I would have more to say actually
).But Oh, my god, how can they just ban skinny people from the catwalk?!?!!! We’re also beautiful!
When i actually here the word fashion model, what comes into my mind are tall, skinny and waif models like what i see in television that is why there are lots of girls who would go for instant dieting that includes: taking of diet pills and starving without even considering the hazards of their actions. May these move change the minds of the young that being a model is not being waif. You can be a fashion model without becoming wafery thin.Eat healthy and eat right!
how the hell is that the best outfit ive seen beeter you low lifes
They are just creating another image for people to aim for. People who are naturally skinny who think that this image will make them feel better will over-eat and people who are naturally bigger will use death defying practices. It’s stupid.
It’s a great idea and definitely realistic. I see clothing on mannequins that look great and immediately ask myself “But how is THAT going to look on ME?”
I think that’s a smart thing to do. Many girls think that they have to be stick thin to look good. The model industry needs to set a better example. Yes, some people are naturally tall and thin, but the women on the runway are at a dangerous weight.
It was Armani who created the ban on “size zero” models! Go Armani!
Government over stepping its boundaries again.
Since when is it the governments job to decide who can and cannnot model. If a company wishes to use overly-skinny models and there are skinny people wanting to work for those companies, who has any right to stop this voluntary exchange. I hope America (The one country to still retain most of its freedoms) does not pass such a law, it’s time we started accepting responsibility for our own actions, not dictating the actions of others.
This is coming from a young teen, so I’m not just making up things. I am 5′8″ and weigh 110 pounds. Last year I spent all fall thinking I was fat, and then I realized that I don’t look fat, and never has anyone indicated that I am, so who cares what those little numbers on my bathroom scale are? I know I’m healthy, I check my BMI every month to double check, so why should I obsess? Unfortunatly, none of the girls I know seem to understand this. They obsess over calories, and even starve themselves. Why? Because the celebrities and models they see as people they should act and look like do. I think we should follow suit and make a law similiar to Spain’s. This would help us girls to realize that we are normal, and not become paper-thin ourselves.
starve yourslef, i dont care. but dont set bad examples for our young adults. if you pay more attention to the actual law that spain made, youll realize they are banning UNHEALTHY models not SKINNY models. there is a difference. and go jaynie. its time some young people used their heads.
I think this is a great idea! It’s about time someone relized that all women do not weigh 90 lbs.! I think curves are more flattering than skin and bone skinny, also. Congrats Spain! Hopefully America will follow in your fashion footsteps!
It’s ok to plump up the mannequins but the mannequins aren’t going to collapse from malnutrition and won’t that be a big expense for retailers?
As for how much a model should weigh–their health can’t be determined by their weight alone. The question is, are their bones sticking out?
It would probably be a good idea to have a rule that the girls have to have a medical exam and present the results from their physician.
When I was age nineteen, and five feet four tall, I weighed ninety-eight pounds (without dieting) and I was healthy. Slim is healthy but bone skinny is not.
i agree that models are too skinny, but for the clothes to hang right, they have to be slender. however, there is a difference between being slim and being anorexic. and why does it matter what models look like anyway? nobody ever said the general public has to look like them! come on people, they make their living off of their bodies and faces.
I can totally sympathize with girls who are overweight and girls who are underweight. Myself, I am 5′4″ and weigh 133 pounds. That is a little bit overweight, and I know this from checking by BMI. But I don’t LOOK really fat!!! I think that it’s unfair for people to prejudice and that models should be a totally different range of body types. But honestly — GO SPAIN!!! I think the decision was good because practically ALL of the models out there ARE starving themselves to look like they do, and that IS unnatural and unhealthy, no matter what you say, Nicky (comment #21). But you totally have a point that some people are natural skinny. By friend Rachel literally looks like a toothpick. My hands could fit around the widest part of her thigh. And she eats like a PIG!!!