Ghostly complexions, sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, skeletal limbs and torsos were on public display in Paris last week as the city's top fashion houses proved that anything said previously in that city about keeping unhealthy-looking models off the catwalk was just "foutiase" (Editor's note: We think that suffices for baloney in French).
London, Madrid, Mumbai, Glasgow and other locations have put rules in place to keep excessively skinny models off catwalks, but in Paris, New York and Milan, the cadaverous look is still in.
"In Paris and New York they expect you to be thin like this," Anett, a model who held up her pinky, told The Guardian.
"And in Milan," said another model identified as Caroline, "people pat your tummy and say, 'Are you having a baby'?"
"In Paris - oh my God! They're so hardcore about how skinny they want the girls to be - they want 33 inch hips and a 22 inch waist," Carole White, founder of Premier Model Management in London told The Daily Mail. "I know of two 13-year-olds who were in shows in Milan, big shows, last year."
Bans of size zero models began back in 2006 when a model from Uruguay, Luisel Ramos, died during a fashion show after having gone days without eating. Ms. Ramos' sister, also a model, died due to complications from anorexia.
Discussion Questions: Do you see a problem with designers continuing to use unnaturally thin models to promote the next season's fashion? Should models be required to meet a minimum body mass index (BMI) to be allowed to walk down a catwalk or appear in ads and commercials? If you believe the use of "size zero" models is wrong, who has the responsibility to bring the practice to an end?