Paris, New York, Milan Force London to Renege on Model Health Certificate Requirement August 13, 2008 11:14 am >> A lot of attention has been placed lately on increasing model diversity, but what about that other troubled topic — model weight?
Today, the British Fashion Council announced that their initiative to ban "size zero" models from the London catwalks next month has been abandoned after the other three major fashion capitals refused to follow suit.
The plan was to require models to obtain a doctor's certificate proving they were in good health, but the Chambre Syndicale in Paris thought imposing model health certificates lay outside their realm, the Camera Nazionale della Moda in Milan preferred self-regulation, and according to Steven Kolb, executive director of New York's CFDA:
We looked at things like doctor’s certification and body mass index and decided that, for us, it wasn’t the appropriate recommendation.
a license to model December 20, 2006 12:39 am >> The Camera della Moda Nazionale, Italy's Chamber of Fashion, has proposed that models must acquire a license before being able to walk in Milan next season. To receive a license, which guarantees that the model is healthy, the model must be at least 16 years of age, have a BMI of at least 18.5, and be assessed by the Chamber itself, the Association of Fashion Services ASSEM, and a group of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, and other scientific experts. Interestingly enough, geographical and ethnic factors that affect body type will be taken into consideration. No word yet on how the Council of Fashion Designers of America plans to address the issue, but Didier Grumbach, who heads Paris' Chambre Syndicale, has said that he has no plans to "regulate something that functions."
Sidenote: Has anyone else noticed how all the articles about this "models are too skinny" issue seem to have a picture of Snejana Onopka? Hmm...
French Sole
Kate Moss