Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: duard.com Does the fashion industry really consider this appealing?

The popularity of anorexia has increased dramatically within the last few years. A trend originally started by the celebrities has carried over to the mainstream followers, who are mainly composed of teenagers.

As anorexia became frowned upon, even within the fashion industry, several corporations and government organizations have taken steps in reducing the spread of this disease.

As Fashion Week arrived in Milan recently, a new set of billboard and newspaper ads appeared across several Italian cities. These ads feature a nude anorexic model, with the words "No Anorexia" written beside her.

The ad is the work of a famous Italian fashion photographer Oliviero Toscani, famed for his work done for the Benetton clothing company. The campaign was paid for by Flash & Partners S.P.A. in efforts to publicize its clothing brand Nolita.

Toscani believes that the world of fashion currently promotes "beauty that is unhealthy." In an Associated Press interview he stated that he wanted to "show the result of losing weight… looking like a model in the end, [but] if you take off the dress that's how you look."

The model featured in the campaign is a 27 year old French model Isabelle Caro, who weighs approximately 68 pounds. On her blog, Caro stated that she has been anorexic since she was 13 due to a "difficult childhood."

"I've hidden myself and covered myself for too long. Now I want to show myself fearlessly, even though I know my body arouses repugnance… I want to recover because I love life and the riches of the universe. I want to show young people how dangerous this illness is," she announced on The Evening Stand, at isabellecomedienne.vox.com.

At the end of last year, the Italian government joined with the Italian fashion industry in a mission to bring back the "healthy, sunny, generous and Mediterranean beauty" (AFP). Milan's city council official Tiziana Maiolo (responsible for the promotion of fashion) said: "We will work together with modeling agencies, with the chamber of commerce for fashion and with doctors to ensure that the agencies and stylists do not favor this phenomenon of anorexia. "

He later added: "I don't think men want to see skeletal women and I want to say to women who are fuller-figured there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. They are undoubtedly the prettiest women about and the most intelligent," he reported to The Evening Stand.

Governments of Madrid and Milan have passed legislation which require all models to carry certificates, proving that they are healthy. The major incentive for the passage of this law was death of 22-year-old model Luisel Ramos during a show in Uruguay last year.

However, not everyone in Italy is being supportive of the campaign. Several designers stated that they do not believe in correlation between the fashion industry and anorexia. Giorgio Armani stated that "anorexia has reasons which are not linked to fashion. Even people who take no notice of fashion get anorexic."

Armani brings up a valid point. For instance, Caro herself developed anorexia for reasons other than fashion trends. I believe that unstable families and social pressures during the K-12 education stage are the leading causes of anorexia in the United States. Blaming the fashion industry is an extremely one-sided approach.

One must keep in mind the opposite side of the weight spectrum. Obesity is another growing dilemma. Many designers seem to have realized the opportunities they are missing in the plus size market, hence the growing popularity of stores such as Torrid and IGIGI.

However, if numerous underweight models were forced to give up their jobs, why should the plus size ones still be allowed on catwalks? Judging by the 8th season of America's Next Top Model, plus-sized models are slowly trying to find their way into mainstream.

Both extremes should be frowned upon evenly; making obesity acceptable while outlawing anorexia is discriminatory.

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