Fashion is an industry like any other in that it has its fair share of controversy and scandal. Since it is largely based on the way people look and superficiality, the fashion world has received a lot of slack throughout the years.
The body image that models–and thus the fashion industry as a whole–promote has been criticized for years, leaving many wondering if there will ever be a change.
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Many people have issues with the world of fashion due to the unrealistic bodies that models have on the runway. The norm on the runway for both men and women is tall and incredibly thin.
The average high fashion female model (high fashion meaning models you see on the runway and in print for major fashion labels like Chanel and Gucci) ranges from 5-foot-9 to 6 feet and weighs anywhere from 110 to 130 pounds and the average male high fashion model is 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-2 and weighs 140 to 165 pounds according to .
This means that the average BMI, or Body Mass Index, which is a measurement calculated using your height and weight to determine whether you are underweight, healthy or overweight, ranges from 16.2 to 17.6 for women and 19.5 to 21.2 for men.
A for an adult ranges from 18.5 to 24.9 meaning that the average high fashion model is much thinner than a healthy weight. While the average male model falls into the healthy range, it falls closer to underweight than anything else. Tall and thin, and often times skeletal and gaunt, is the name of the game for these models.
However, that is not to say that men and women who do modeling that is not high fashion don’t promote an unhealthy “ideal body” as well. Even models found in commercial advertising are pretty thin or at the very least have an unrealistic body type. In other words, we are constantly inundated with images of bodies that we will never have, no matter how hard we exercise or how well we eat.
The biggest complaint is that young girls are seeing this body type on the runways, in magazines, on television, everywhere, and then think to themselves that this is the norm, the ideal even. It starts to build insecurities in young girls, as well as boys, because they don’t look like the models on the runway or in magazines.
The men and women they see on the runway and in fashion advertisements represent the body they wish they had, but for your average girl or boy, this body type is unattainable. This can cause children to strive to attain this unrealistic body type and create a whole slew of psychological and health problems such as eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder.
As of 2014, the has said that up to 24 million people in the United States of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder. It can be argued that the fashion industry has at least something to do with this given what the models look like.
This particular issue has also stirred up a lot of debate among designers and consumers. Many people feel that designers should stop using stick thin models and instead opt for models with more “normal” proportions to combat the issue. However, on the other hand, some to do such a thing and not only that, but many high fashion labels don’t even make clothing past a certain size.
What is even more maddening for proponents of normal women on the runway and normal sizes is the definition of “normal” in the first place. It seems that the consensus is that the , but in the fashion industry, anything over a size six might as well be plus size. The disconnect between what we see on the runway and in magazines versus what we see in real life is what angers many people.
“Bridesmaids” actress experienced this disconnect firsthand. In an interview with “Redbook,” McCarthy discussed how she used to have trouble finding someone to make an Oscar dress for her, claiming that one year she “asked five or six designers – very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people – and they all said no.”
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