General

Vogue bans overly skinny, underage models

The ill-looking, underage models who have been setting the standard of beauty in fashion magazines for decades have been banned from the pages of none other than Vogue magazines.

Starting in June, the 19 editors of Vogue fashion magazine worldwide have agreed to work only with “healthy” models. The pact also includes banning models under the age of 16. Editors will ID models to ensure they are older than 16 and will make the call whether a model appears to have an eating disorder.

From the New York Times blog, On the Runway:

In a somewhat unusual announcement, unusual in that the magazines are wading into a controversial issue, the Condé Nast International chairman, Jonathan Newhouse, said on Thursday, “Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers.”

For decades, fashion magazines have been criticized for upholding an unrealistic standard of beauty, and even more so with the widespread use of digital retouching that often results in images of models and celebrities that have no basis in reality. While Vogue editors like Anna Wintour, of the American edition, and Franca Sozzani, of Italy, have participated in recent efforts by the Council of Fashion Designers of America to promote healthier behavior in the modeling industry, the magazines have not typically issued their own standards.

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