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 All said they were honoring a new charter by
their parent companies LVMH and Kering, setting age and
size-limits for the people parading their clothes - a timely
development say campaigners, who want it to spread even further.
"I've seen a lot of girls have eating disorders ... (the
charter) helps them from harming their bodies to fit the
standard," said model Danielle Ellesworth, 20, as she prepared
for Christian Dior's show.
Two years ago, Dior, part of LVMH, made waves by picking a
14-year-old for the catwalk - the new charter only allows people
older than 16 to display adult clothes.
LVMH and Kering will also no longer use models below the French
size 34 for women and 44 for men, meaning the United States'
infamous "size 0" - equivalent to a French 32 - is out.
It is still far from an industry-wide standard, and the models
in Paris remained very slender and young - the stars included
Kaia Gerber, the 16-year-old daughter of supermodel Cindy
Crawford, who modeled for Kering's Saint Laurent.
But designers, models and other insiders said it was a start
that could encourage people to denounce bad practices.
"It's important that this industry takes responsibility," said
British designer Stella McCartney, after showcasing a
contrasting collection of cotton T-shirts and bright taffeta
skirts at Paris' baroque Opera Garnier on Monday.
"The houses must, the designers must, the casting directors
must, the agents must, the models must," added McCartney, whose
eponymous label is part of Kering.
"FAT MUMMIES"
Cyril Brule, founder of Viva Model Management and the head of a
French union for modeling agencies, said the companies'
all-encompassing ban could be more effective than regulations
and laws brought in by individual countries.
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"Something had to be done," Brule said. "Things had gradually
deteriorated, there were more and more instances of depression, of
models suffering panic attacks."
There has been some resistance and some designers have defended the
use of tall, thin models as the best way to show off their
creations. Karl Lagerfeld, creative director at privately-held
Chanel, hit out in a 2009 interview at the "fat mummies" objecting
to thinner women.
Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said there were also technical
considerations - her teams found it easier to work upwards from
smaller-sized dummies and prototypes, whether on shoes, hats or
clothes.
"There are some sizes that are good for making the first prototype,"
she said after unveiling her collection last week.
But some other brands have already started to push beyond the
charter. Issey Miyake, part of Japan's Shiseido Group, used three
models over 40 in a dance-filled runway show on Friday.
"I didn't want to stick to one particular kind of muse," said the
brand's designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae.
(Additional reporting by Pascale Denis and Noemie Olive; Editing by
Andrew Heavens)
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