Fashion models in France need doctor"s note before taking to catwalk

Fashion models in France will need to provide medical certificates proving they are healthy in order to work, after a new law was introduced banning those considered to be excessively thin.

A further measure, to come into force on 1 October, will require magazines, adverts and websites to mark images in which a model’s appearance has been manipulated with the words photographie retouchée (retouched photograph).

Doctors are urged to pay special attention to the model’s body mass index (BMI), a calculation taking into account age, height and weight. However, unlike similar legislation passed in Italy and Spain, models will not have to reach a minimum BMI.

Under World Health Organisation guidelines an adult with a BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight, 18 malnourished, and 17 severely malnourished. The average model measuring 1.75m (5ft 9in) and weighing 50kg (7st 12lb) has a BMI of 16.

Announcing the introduction of the new rules on Friday, France’s health minister said they were aimed at preventing anorexia by stopping the promotion of inaccessible ideals of beauty.

“Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour,” the health and social affairs minister, Marisol Touraine, said.

Given Paris’s iconic role in the fashion industry, the measures – passed in 2015 but only just coming into effect – are likely to have a symbolic impact around the world.

The proposals had originally suggested a minimum BMI for models but, following an outcry from fashion executives and modelling agencies, this was ditched in favour of allowing doctors to decide whether a model is too thin.

Agencies who use models without valid medical certificates will face a fine of €75,000 (£54,000) and staff face up to six months in prison. Failing to flag-up retouched images will incur a fine of €37,500, or up to 30% of the amount spent on the advert.

Fashion models in France need doctor"s note before taking to catwalk

Don’t blame the fashion world for the cult of skinny – even Roald Dahl plays his part | Hadley Freeman

It’s September, which means – exciting! – it’s fashion Groundhog Day again. This consists of fashion weeks starting up, followed swiftly by the announcement of a political initiative to protect women against this evil on the catwalk. (Another feature of fashion Groundhog Day, incidentally, is a slew of articles by male columnists expressing bafflement at why the models are so thin, which can be summed up as: “I don’t find this sexy, so why?!” However would we know how to look without men telling us what turns them on?)

Anyway, the latest initiative comes courtesy of the Women’s Equality party, which has launched a campaign demanding, among other things, that British designers and retailers stop using size zero clothes in shows and photoshoots. This, the WEP claims, “will tackle negative body image issues and eating disorders”.

I’m going to ignore the all-too-predictable connection between fashion models and eating disorders here, because I’ve written enough for this lifetime about how absurdly reductive it is to suggest that a mental illness is caused by Vogue. Instead, I’ll say this: the WEP is perfectly within its rights to address this issue, but – spoiler alert – it will not make a blind bit of difference. There have been efforts to legislate against fashion’s obsession with skinniness in the past; these laws, wherever they’re passed, always get a lot of play, because the media love a story that allows them to run a photo of a skinny model at least as much as the fashion industry likes the skinny model herself.

So it would be understandable if you were confused as to why things haven’t changed. The problem is not only that the laws are rarely enforced, but also that they are the equivalent of rearranging the Titanic’s deck chairs. For a start, fashion is too international for one country’s legislation to make a difference – especially, I’m sorry to say, when it’s this country doing the legislating. With the exception of Burberry, British-based fashion companies simply do not spend enough on international advertising for any laws to have an effect; the rest of the world won’t even see the photographs. Slapping legislation on a tiny British brand will not change the aesthetic if Chanel and Prada can carry on as before.

While fashion represents the connection between skinniness and perfection in its purest form, it is also the end point. By the time a woman is looking at fashion photography, she’ll have gone through years of indoctrination that the less of her there is, the better. It’s there in all the children’s books and films, in which the evil women are plump and the nice ones are slender (Roald Dahl is especially bad on this). It’s there in pretty much every film ever made (the only person I’ve interviewed with an evident eating disorder was not a model but an actress). And it’s there in the general atmosphere of being female today, the things you grow up hearing the adult women around you saying about their bodies, the way they decline dessert. According to a report just published by the Children’s Society, teenage girls are unhappier than ever, especially with their bodies, which they compare unfavourably with those of their friends and celebrities.

This masochistic tendency towards self‑erasure is a complicated issue, something a well‑meaning but overly simplistic campaign against thinness in fashion can’t fix. The WEP has also suggested including body-image lessons as part of the school curriculum, which is a better idea (and, tellingly, it has had less pick-up, what with it lacking the vital excuse for a photograph of a model). But instead of fussing about the meaningless phrase “size zero”, or conflating thinness with anorexia, the WEP would be more effective if it looked at the prevalence of eating disorders in the fashion industry and exposed this. Instead of pretending it can tell fashion editors what to put in their magazines, the WEP could talk to them to get a more realistic sense of the problem, and get them on side.

If we really want to end the association between female skinniness and female aspiration, women need to be doing this on an individual, focused level, not leaving it to politicians to act on an amorphous, collective one. Look at the way you talk about your body and what you eat, especially in front of young girls. Call out publications that condescend to larger women and feature photographs only of slim ones. Remind your female friends and your daughters that their jeans size is not a measurement of their personal value.

It is easy to damn the fashion industry for promoting skinny as the feminine ideal. It’s harder to admit that it is only echoing back too many of our own darkest thoughts, our own self-loathing.

Don’t blame the fashion world for the cult of skinny – even Roald Dahl plays his part | Hadley Freeman

Fashion industry told to end its quest for ‘unattainable thinness’

The Women’s Equality party is to launch an unprecedented campaign aimed at radically changing the way the fashion industry treats body size and shape.

Coinciding with London fashion week, which will run from 16-20 September, the initiative will call for an end to unrealistically small “sample sizes” – the sizes in which designers show their new creations – and demand a minimum body mass index (BMI) for models.

Sophie Walker, the WEP leader, plans to ask the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, to withdraw funding for next year’s fashion week if the campaign’s key demands are not in place by then. She will also ask Maria Miller, chair of the Women and Equalities Commission, to hold a public hearing in which fashion designers will be asked why their clothes are based on “an unattainable level of thinness in women”, which Walker believes is contributing to a crisis in public health with an economic impact of £1.3bn a year.

The campaign calls for models whose BMI is below 18.5 to be seen by a medical professional from an accredited list, who will judge whether they are well enough to be employed by a modelling agency. Similar legislation exists in France, Spain, Italy and Israel. Campaigners are also asking that fashion designers showing at LFW commit to including at least two sample sizes in every range, one of which must be a UK size 12 or above.

Additional proposals include fashion magazines committing to at least one piece in each issue featuring plus-size models. WEP is also demanding that body image awareness become a compulsory part of personal, social and health education, with a focus on media depictions of beauty and extra training for teachers.

Those backing the campaign include Caryn Franklin, the former presenter of The Clothes Show, who is now a professor of diversity in fashion at Kingston University, plus-size model Jada Sezer and model Rosie Nixon, who has spoken out against an industry that asked her to lose an unreasonable and unhealthy amount of weight in order that she get “down to the bone”.

WEP will also launch an interactive social media campaign, #NoSizeFitsAll, based on the statistic that one in five women cut the labels out of their clothes to conceal their size. A photoshoot will feature new designers Isatu Harrison and her line, Izelia, and Katie Pope of Pope London, both of whose work will be modelled by a diverse group of women.

Walker describes the initiative as a chance to “raise awareness of the body image issues experienced by women and girls, and to have a discussion about the significant and far-reaching impact of the fashion industry’s idolisation of a unique and very small size”.

Fashion industry told to end its quest for ‘unattainable thinness’

Cost-free for the taking: How to fashion super healthy, ambrosia fruit salad with banana…the tasty, tropical bliss that is food for longevity.

Dehydrated coconut is ambrosia’s taste of je ne sais quoi…its unique bonne bouche…the magnificent, star of our display. Dried coconut…a wildly common viand in the latter nineteenth century…led to what was then, the easy elegance of ambrosia. With this said… It is an adored dish in Southern cuisine…serving as salad course and fruit dessert. To this day…the modern, gourmet creation is styling and profiling in bowls and parfait glasses from modest residences to exquisite restaurants. There is a plethora of embellishments to its heavenly matched, traditional pairing…succulent orange and luscious coconut…that’s authentic ambrosia! Turning to the adage, “The more…the merrier,” this exemplary variation is certainly worthwhile to prepare…this for banana’s dreamy, creamy texture and commendable nutritiousness.

The Sweet Banana … Its Wellness Positive aspects
one~ gives up a laudable provide of…vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), calcium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, biotin, magnesium, manganese and vitamin C-
2~ is an ample supply of protein…plus the banana is chock-total of dietary fiber-
3~ homes fructooligosaccharide…a prebiotic and over time, a probiotic…which is a advantageous bacteria in the digestive tract, hence bettering the consumption of minerals by the body…especially bone constructing calcium-
four~ is abundant with a unique cocktail of minerals, carotenoids and antioxidant compounds that significantly improve eye wellness-
five~ is a vasodilator…easing tension of veins and arteries resulting in a freer, much more relaxed blood flow!

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

In The Volume Of
Yield is two satiating servings.

Substances
Spot into bowl:

Preferably each pineapple and orange…7 ½ to 10 ounces of every, flesh fat
Or…if need be…go with orange fruit solely-
Orange…supreme citrus, flesh and juice = 15 to 20 ounces

Cut Down To Size
Reduce orange and pineapple flesh into ¼ inch by ¼ inch pieces.

Know Best
For well being, it’s ideal to steer clear of seedless orange and pineapple fruits.

Ahead Of Time
Pineapple flesh freezes beautifully. Chop pineapple…as instructed in this recipe…freeze. This is a good time-saving approach. Then all there is to do…weigh quantity necessary, thaw!

Supreme Authority
Supreming Citrus Fruits

Segmenting citrus…or supreme in culinary vernacular…means to release personal segments (sections) from the membranes of citrus fruit. The membranes hold fruit collectively. Ahead of supreming, zest citrus.

Now, it’s time to supreme:
Slice off top and bottom of citrus.
With a small, sharp knife, reduce away white pith.

By Decision
Achieve this in one particular of two ways:
one} Slice in a circular motion by moving close to globe of citrus.
two} Slice from prime to bottom by following contour of citrus.
At this juncture, perform over a bowl to catch juice. Maintain knife as close to membrane as attainable. Insert knife along one side of membrane, and slice towards the center. 1 side of the section must have separated. Execute same action on other side of membrane until finally segment has fully detached.

Coconut, dried (huge flakes) = two cups
Click right here for this author’s option of organic, premium dehydrated coconut…shreds, flakes and chips.

Get It Together
Mingle orange, pineapple and coconut…allow roughly 5 minutes for them to converge.
+++For the ambrosia-creating purists, culinarily speaking… Minus pineapple and banana…add an extra two cups, coconut plus two to 4 tablespoons, honey! Pick pure honey that hasn’t been processed…heated and/or filtered. Stir with each other honey and orange…then, combine in coconut.

Going Bananas!
Banana, flesh = 20 ounces
Slice banana after vertically…then complete horizontal cuts, about ¼ to ½ inch thick.
With a gentle toss, marry in the banana.

Feelin’ fancy? Magnificent include-ins…chopped strawberries and/or whipped coconut cream!

Bright Thought!
Have natural pineapple, and questioning what to do with the scraps?

For a glorious encounter and entire body cleanser:
Exclude best and leaves of fruit. Mix til super smooth…remainder of scraps = 68 ounces with water, free of impurities = 2 cups.

Wash Up
Slather pineapple cream onto clean and dry, facial and/or physique skin. For 10 to 15 minutes, chillax although this cream’s miracle doing superpower beautifies skin. With great water, rinse away cream.

Until our following culinary adventure… Be in health and have joie de vivre!

***ABOUT THE Writer***

Taste the excellent lifestyle through Recipes That WOW! and enjoy…Wellness Above Weakness.

Dianne Wawrzyniak-Marshall
Healthy Meals Aficionado &amp Author Of Recipes That WOW!

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Cost-free for the taking: How to fashion super healthy, ambrosia fruit salad with banana…the tasty, tropical bliss that is food for longevity.

A suggestion for Burberry"s subsequent line: toxin-cost-free fashion | John Sauven

The Burberry ‘B’ lights up on the catwalk runway at the Chelsea College of Artwork and Design. Photograph: Felix Clay

During Angela Ahrendt’s time at the helm of Burberry she’s taken a 158-yr-outdated label and turned it into a top luxury brand for the 21st century. But Burberry has been left behind the curve in one particular respect – the damaging chemical substances that can be located in its garments.

Greenpeace’s Detox campaign has previously signed up 18 of the greatest key worldwide clothes brands, from Adidas to Zara, to take away toxic chemical compounds from their clothing and, even more importantly, from the outflow pipes of the factories they use. But we want to do more. The worldwide provide chains of big brand names are long, complicated and intertwined with each and every other, and so a crucial mass to shift the whole sector is required. Our newest report on hazardous chemicals in children’s clothes, named A Small Story About the Monsters In Your Closet, has shone a spotlight on Burberry, and we feel they’re well positioned to be an critical part of the remedy.

In a handful of months Ahrendt is moving on, to head Apple’s retail operations, but before she leaves I would like to request her to perform one last miracle: toxin-free of charge fashion.

Angela, you have been recognised for your accomplishments from Forbes to the Monetary Instances, and have turn into a part model for young people everywhere who aspire to be leaders in enterprise and style. Below your stewardship Burberry is a brand revived – its stylish layout and stylish lines sought right after across the globe – but regrettably there is some thing woven into the material which wants to be unpicked.

In our report, Greenpeace tested nine children’s clothes products created by Burberry and identified that all but a single contained hazardous chemical substances. These integrated nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE), which can break down in the atmosphere to type hormone-disrupting chemical substances. After launched into the setting, a lot of of these chemical substances can have adverse impacts on human reproductive, hormonal or immune methods.

This is not just a difficulty affecting Burberry consumers: these chemical substances can be discovered everywhere, from Beijing to Basingstoke. The fashion industry’s continued use of hazardous substances affects not just regional communities in making countries this kind of as China, but also us here in the Uk, polluting our rivers each and every time we wash our garments, and coming into into our foods programs and homes by way of the merchandise themselves.

We can not ensure that eliminating these hazardous substances will be simple, but practically nothing worthwhile ever is. Forward-thinking brands such as Valentino and Zara are already proving that it can be carried out – committing to Detox and taking credible actions to develop a lot more transparency in a notoriously murky industry. As it stands Burberry dangers getting left behind.

Future generations have the right to increase up in a world free of charge of toxic chemical substances ,and we appeal to Burberry to be element of the answer, not the problem. It has currently proved itself to be a trendsetter and it now has the chance to lead the vogue business in a new direction by taking transformative methods nowadays to make sure a better world tomorrow.

This is larger than style. This is larger than business. This is about the legacy that you can leave for our children. I hope Burberry will seize it with both hands.

A suggestion for Burberry"s subsequent line: toxin-cost-free fashion | John Sauven