I am addicted to fashion television. I love the drama, the ridiculous tasks, the intense time scales and the beautiful people who present them. As long as there’s blood, sweat and shoes I’ll watch it. I also find the drive and passion these people have to make something of them selves quite uplifting. Recently though I have come to realise that there is a very fine line between ambitious and hardworking and fame hungry and desperate. Yesterday I witnessed the new advert for Americas Next Top Model in which a girl who is barley skin and bone is told by a shocked looking Jay Manuel that she doesn’t need to get any leaner, to which she looks overly surprised to hear. It seems that the pressures of the fashion industry have claimed another victim. But how much of this can we really blame on magazines and TV show’s? Surley you have a choice with what you do to your body? Or, in a world where obese people can sue MacDonalds for not informing them that their food is full of fat, can anorexic people sue Vogue for not explaining that a size zero is not normal?
Being a 5 ft 1, size 12 with a natural Dolly Parton chest, I understand the plight of the “curvy woman”. I do not however strive to change myself into a leggy chest less girl just so I can buy clothes from Topshop. I believe that this is because I understand that we are all built differently and that even if I was too become a size 8 I would still be to short for most of their jeans. Some things we can not change, accepting them is the hard part. I personally love my curves as I can dress in beautiful vintage clothing from my favorite era (the 1950’s) and it suits me too a tee. Every ones body shape is different and while the high street will cater to the needs of most sizes the catwalk remains a sea of waifs. But who is too be blamed, if anyone at all?
At one end of the body spectrum we have Keira Knightley who is often criticized for being too thin but protests that her body shape is completely natural. At the other end we have the gorgeous Christina Hendricks. She is a voluptuous size 14 because her and the other Mad Men stars are asked not too diet or exercise during filming to keep that elegant hourglass shape. So, we are appalled at Keira’s skinniness and inspired by Christina’s curves yet the magazines wont use plus size girls because they claim that the samples they get sent for shoots range only between a zero and a four. But then we can not blame the designers for this, clothes are their art. They should be allowed to design what they wish for who they wish. And the circle of blame continues. I believe that it is not one entity but many that influence our obsession with this age old debate, “does size matter”. Fashion and all of its medias are there to advertise and inform but what we perceive it all to mean is our own choice.
So why is it that women who read the same magazines, shop in the same stores and even idolize the same women as I do end up looking like an extra from night of the living dead? It seems that even in a time where we have inspirational people such as Gok Wan to lead us on the path to true body confidence, its still far easier to blame the media for our indiscretions than to admit to ourselves that we have a serious problem. The matter is not helped when respected elders of the fashion industry make it clear that there is no room in the modeling business for bigger girls. Last year Charlotte Dawson (Australia’s Next Top Model judge) said that it was basic “tokenism” to cast plus size models on the show and Julien Macdonald branded them a joke.
Although there is a clear call for change, it looks doubtful that any large brands will take the first step towards giving natural girls a voice. It seems that this plus sized task must rely on independent designers, writers, models and fashionistas everywhere to push the boundaries and make its cause heard. Count me in…
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