# Madrid bans too-thin models from catwalk



## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

I love models. Always have. I'm generally much more interested in models than other celebrities so I thought this was interesting. What do you all think? I assume you are all familiar with how insanely thin models are ever since Heroin Chic emerged in the 90's. And to be honest really thin models do wear the clothes better but it has gotten really out of hand in recent years. We're talking 5'11 women that weight 100 pounds.

Fri Sep 8, 10:30 AM ET
MADRID (AFP) - Excessively skinny fashion models will be barred from a major Madrid fashion show later this month for fear they could send the wrong message to young Spanish girls, local media reported.

Madrid's regional government, which is co-financing the Pasarela Cibeles, has vetoed around a third of the models who took part in last year's show because they weigh too little.

The authorities collaborated with a Spanish health organisation to come up with a minumum body mass -- a height-weight ratio -- of 18 for the models.

Spanish daily ABC said it was the first time such restrictions had been imposed on a fashion show, although a recent wedding dress exhibition in Barcelona banned fashion models who took a dress size below 38 (British size 10, US size eight).

Several models at last year's show provoked a row when they claimed their careers would be under threat if they put on weight.

Organisers said they wanted to "help ensure public opinion does not associate fashion, and fashion shows in particular, with an increase in anorexia, a disease which, along with bulimia, is considered ... as a mental and behavioural problem".

The event will take place on September 18-22.

This is the image that was with the article. It's last years fashion show I assume.


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## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

frankly, i think skinny models are generally not only not healthy, they're typically not that attractive either. it definitely got way out of control in the 90s onward.

but if you look at which models/movie stars are usually the most popular, they tend to have a little more meat on their bones!


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## Epiphany (Apr 28, 2006)

I have always loved the way healthier-looking models carry themselves and fill the clothes on the catwalk...I personally don't see anything overly attractive about the skinnier models at all.

I think it is a good if bold move for the Madrid regional government to veto these models as it will send a strong message to the young teenage girls who are easily influenced.

Far too much emphasis is placed on looking slim these days as opposed to being healthy. Here in Oz I see a large number of pre-teen girls dressed in fashions far too old for their years...10 / 11 year olds dressed as though they are ready to go clubbing. There are padded bras and g-strings on sale now with popular character prints on them designed for girls as young as 7 and 8. It is frightening how young some girls are being introduced to the adult world and these fashion-savvy little girls are looking at the super-thin models and actresses and modelling themselves on them. I think it is great that Madrid is taking this stance.


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## Axel19 (Aug 11, 2004)

Whislt I don't like the way girls are pressured into looking a certain way (when infact there is a broad spectrum of beauty as far as I am concerned). It can't be denied that some people are just extremely skinny, which is what I've never understood about the whole anti skinny thing.


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

I agree that some people are naturally skinny. As an example, I think that Kate Moss has a naturally small frame. But we're talking every single model in the pages of Vogue is _unnaturally_ thin. It's actually pretty bizarre. And on that note, I'm gonna post some pictures.


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

.hj


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

PRADA









BURBERRY









GUCCI









BADGLEY MISCHKA









GUCCI









VALENTINO


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

And there you have it, our Spring 2006 Ready-to-Wear. And on that note, I wanna go shopping now. See how sick the cycle is.


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## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

Axel19 said:


> Whislt I don't like the way girls are pressured into looking a certain way (when infact there is a broad spectrum of beauty as far as I am concerned). It can't be denied that some people are just extremely skinny, which is what I've never understood about the whole anti skinny thing.


indeed, i think nicole kidman is a good example of a naturally thin frame who is also quite beautiful.

but, the general trend is distructive. lindsay lohan is a good example. pre-anorexia/bulemia she was amazingly attractive (IMO)...skinny lindsay, not so much.


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## Axel19 (Aug 11, 2004)

Those girls probably have no sex drive whatsoever.


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## Martinelv (Aug 10, 2004)

Well, I wouldn't kick them out of my bed (unless they begged), but some of these models are unnaturally thin, it's obvious.

What are catwalks like in America? 8) Do they do them on reinforced conctrete bridges with 'wide load' stickers on their backsides?

Oooooooooooh........... :twisted:


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

The point is this is pretty much just a random sampling of models. Not just some are this thin. They are all this thin. And i'm just as demented as the next person because I agree the 6 foot tall 100 pound women look better in couture clothing. And I have all the fashion magazines. I'm addicted. But sometimes, it's just shocking when I really pay attention to how thin these women really are.


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## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

enngirl5 said:


> The point is this is pretty much just a random sampling of models. Not just some are this thin. They are all this thin. And i'm just as demented as the next person because I agree the 6 foot tall 100 pound women look better in couture clothing.


i think you've hit the nail on the head here. the fashion industry recognizes that extremely skinny women look better in couture clothing. the average woman out there interprets this as simply, "extremely skinny women look better, period."

take, for example, the victoria's secret models. extremely skinny women would NOT look better in that context. as a result, victoria's secret models have a bit more meat on their bones. of course, they aren't exactly "large" women, but they also don't look like they are fifteen minutes from starving to death. the same is true of magazines directed at men (e.g. maxim, fhm, playboy, etc.)

of course, it's not like it would be healthy if women became obsessed with looking like the models in these magazines either. instead of being anorexic or bulemic, they'd all be obsessed with getting breast implants and have all other sorts of body image problems.


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## Epiphany (Apr 28, 2006)

Good point Cal...

Hmmm...the waifs do look better in these clothes I guess. Another reason I don't find these women all that attractive is that I'm just not a fan of couture clothing....hence the reason I don't aspire to look like them.

Now a playboy bunny on the other hand, or the chicks in FHM...yeah, I would love to have their bodies. Even if most of them aren't completely real. :wink:


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

See to me I have no desire to look like the Playboy bunny type of women. Who even knows what they really look like anyway. Big poofy blonde hair, fake boobs, tans, blue contacts, fake eyelashes collagen injected lips. To me it's tacky. But aspiring to look like a runway model is just as bad, skinny, sunk in eyes, etc. But the point is, we all see beauty differently. If I could look like anyone in Hollywood, it would probably be something along the lines of Natalie Portman.


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

I couldn't resist posting this one I saw on a news article related to the Madrid thing.


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

Oh yeah, apparently they were banning any model with a BMI of under 18.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2006)

enngirl5 said:


> Oh yeah, apparently they were banning any model with a BMI of under 18.


I really applaud this. There are girls aged 8 nowadays that are already dieting (and not because they are having too much weight, they only _think_ they have).


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## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

enngirl5 said:


> To me it's tacky. But aspiring to look like a runway model is just as bad, skinny, sunk in eyes, etc. But the point is, we all see beauty differently. If I could look like anyone in Hollywood, it would probably be something along the lines of Natalie Portman.


it seems to me that this is a very significant observation. we all definitely see beauty differently. unfortunately, we in the modern world don't seem to think that we can learn to appreciate "better" understandings of beauty just like we can learn to appreciate other seemingly more "objective" things.

what do i mean by better? i think a good way to look at it is in terms of consequences. if we idealize the ultra-skinny way of looking as beautiful, then we end up not only creating an unrealistic ideal, we set up an ideal that promotes unhealthy behaviors such as anorexia and bulemia. it creates bmi that is quite unhealthy too.

if, on the other hand, we idealize the kind of women seen in maxim, fhm, playboy and pornography, we end up with a different sort of problem. women who buy into this become obsessed with unnatural self-alteration, for one thing. more destructive, however, is that when men buy into this idea of beauty (which is all too common) then we have unrealistic expectations/demands for fulfilling what beauty is. the beauty of the female body is distorted into something that either never or rarely exists in reality.

but if we cultivated being healthy as beautiful we might be in a better place. even though it is more difficult (sometimes impossible) to have a healthy body, it is still something worth striving after. and when not pursued with obsessiveness, it is a really good thing to pursue. i think your example of natalie portman is a good example. pursuing having a body type like hers could bring along another set of psychological issues if it became an obsession, but it would not necessarily render you physically unhealthy.

of course, i haven't even begun to discuss the mental health issues that are directly related to this issue either...


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## Starz5 (Jul 5, 2006)

I love fashion..and I know the clothes supposidly fit better or are more "flattering on a thinner frame"..but come on..its ridiculous what these poor girls are doing to themselves. It is getting pretty bad. Most people typically are not that thin unless they are models or have eating disorders...grant it, yes some people are naturally thin (Audrey Hepburn, Kate Moss, Twiggy). But, seriously, some people should boycott models and say they're not going on the runway unless they look like they have actually eaten some food. But we all know its not going to happen for the most part.

Modeling agencies are notorious about weight in modeling, along with girls having eating disorders (which the agency overlooks) and sadly, thats always how it will be in that industry. Its all about looks and "thin is in and is what pays." The girls like the money, some dont really like theirselves but the money is good so not eating..and making 500 a day or more?..Ok. Also they can say "Well Im a model for Dior,"(or Chanel, Prada, whichever), supposedly making an excuse for their actually sickly looking frame to making them sound rather appealing to those who find that impressive. Sad and vain world. :roll:

Im not saying all models are sickly looking but some are pretty much that..and Im not saying that all models do not like themselves Im sure they do..so..sorry if I offended any models on here. I do agree and think that the weight issue has gotten a bit out of hand, but what can you do..like I said, thats modeling and it will always be like that. If the person is happy, whoever it be (model..agent..whoever)..then let it be..but most of us do know the difference between sickly looking and healthy.


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