The effects of the Fashion world

In the fashion industry it is clearly not a secret that thin is in. From the pages of every magazine, billboards, commercial ads and more all you see are images of thin models projected to the audiences. The fashion industry portrays barely developed models with almost no curves at all as the face of their brand. Their target audiences view these images and feel that these body images are normal when in fact they aren’t! Has the fashion industry gone too far and are negatively influencing people to starve themselves, create unhealthy diet habits all to achieve this image and can either risk or develop an eating disorder such as anorexia and bulimia and can cause death. Although the fashion industry cannot be the only blame for the distorted images of young girls, as pro- ana websites and bad food industry can play a big role as well, I feel that the fashion industry has one of the biggest influences on women and adolescents today.

When thinking about fashion today, I feel that models and the fashion industry goes hand in hand. When you see advertisements of products whether viewed through television, magazines or any other source of media, models are almost always the main source to selling their products. It is hard to imagine not seeing really tall and thin models walking down runway shows. It seems like the thinner the better in this industry. When will the fashion industry realize that too thin is unhealthy? Was the perception that people should be that skinny always in the fashion industry’s standards and when did this new ideal image began? Woman like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were once considered beautiful for their natural body. Today their image would be seen in the “curvy” section in magazines. Years ago their body image would have been appreciated and accepted because it was relatable to real average women in today’s society, but the standard for beauty has definitely changed. When was it appropriate to decide that thin was more beautiful?  While reading a blog I came across, I have discovered some interesting facts about the difference in weight and size of the average model twenty years ago from models in present day.

Marilyn Monroe

Elizabeth Taylor

-Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today she weighs 23% less.

-Ten years ago plus-size models averaged between size 12 and 18. Today the need for size diversity is still questioned.

-Most runway models today meet the body mass index standard to have anorexia

It is frustrating to discover that the idea of beauty has changed and that thin is seen as beautiful compared to images of average beauty that real people have. It is really clear judging from statistics that models do not depict average women. Most models are not at the weight they should be for their height, which is not healthy. A huge factor contributing to the affects that fashion industry have on women are the way that magazines, designers, stores, and photographers portray women in the industry.  Many influential people in the fashion industry support the use of really thin models in fashion shows and in magazine ads. Top designer of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld is known to be quite open about his belief that those who have an opinion about models being skinny are fat and jealous. Lagerfled was quoted during an interview with Focus Magazine saying "these are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly". His fashion, and his success as a top designer may have a huge influence on women and his open beliefs can encourage women to want to achieve the same image.