GERMAN MAGAZINE SWAPS THIN MODELS FOR REAL WOMEN
By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN – Germany’s most popular women’s magazine announced Monday that it is banning professional models from its pages in favor of “real women” in an attempt to combat an unhealthy standard of rail-thin beauty that it says has isolated its readers.
The editor-in-chief of Germany’s bimonthly Brigitte told reporters that, starting next year, the magazine will feature a mix of prominent women and regular readers in photo spreads for everything from beauty to fashion to fitness.
Andreas Lebert said the move is a response to readers increasingly saying that they are tired of seeing “protruding bones” from models who weigh far less than the average woman.
“We will show women who have an identity — the 18-year-old student, the head of the board, the musician, the football player,” Andreas Leberts said in Hamburg, where the magazine, published by Gruner+Jahr, is based.
Fashion centers around the world have begun trying in recent years to combat the size 0 look that has come to dominate the fashion industry, contributing, some experts say, to eating disorders and poor body image.
In 2004, the Dove beauty products company launched its own “Campaign for Real Beauty” that included print and billboard ads showing “real women,” of all shapes and sizes, posing in their underwear.
In 2007, the U.S. Council of Fashion of Designers of America issued voluntary guidelines to curb the use of overly thin models.
Fashion officials in Madrid set a minimum body-mass index, and those in Milan tightened restrictions. Efforts gained urgency after 21-year-old Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died of anorexia in November 2006, weighing 88 pounds (40 kilos).
On its Web site, Brigitte announced to readers that “A New Epoch has Begun” and women to submit a portrait and full-body photos of themselves to considered for a photo shoot.
“We will pay the same fee as we would for professional models,” Lebert said, adding that the magazine views the move as an investment.
Lebert said his magazine’s move “should not be understood as a declaration of war on the modeling profession.”
“We are not going to become a magazine for plus-sizes,” he said.
Brigitte has suffered a steady drop in readers over the past 20 years but, with more than 719,000 copies sold per issue, it remains Germany’s most-read women’s magazine.
Louisa von Minckwitz, who owns the German-based Louisa Models agency, told The Associated Press she believed the ban on models was a marketing gag that would not last for long.
“Women want to see clothes on a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing person,” von Minckwitz said.
Associated Press Writer Zacharias Zacharakis contributed from Hamburg.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Karin, this video made me think of you and your quest. It’s a “real” woman with a sense of humor which so many of the women on your side of the argument don’t seem to have (go to funny or die dot come -one word - and look at the video by an actress named Nicole Eggert, the site won’t let me post the link).
You need to lighten up by the way! You take this issue too hard. By the way, Irving Penn died yesterday. He was married to my personal all time favorite model, Lisa Fonssigrives. You should check out some of her photographs. It’s where we differ on what we look for in fashion.
October 9th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I just watched the video — hilarious! That’s totally my sense of humor, especially the ending. The bad thing with emails and blog postings is there’s no facial expressions or voice inflections to filter what’s being said. I’m nowhere near as serious as you might think from my posts. (Plus I really love to argue a point, and was tickled when I kept running across fresh stories that shored up my side of the argument.)
I wasn’t familiar with Fonssigrives so I googled images of her. The pictures were almost more art than fashion, or perhaps the ideal blending of both. There was no shock factor over her slenderness. Her size wasn’t what anyone would notice when looking at those pictures. That’s more how it’s supposed to be.
October 9th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Karin, Lisa Fossigrives even described herself as a “good clothes hanger” . She was also very philosophical about the fleeting and superficial nature of fashion and beauty.
My favorite fashion photos are from the 30s through 60s. So many models now lack class and true style and elegance. And they all look alike what with photo shopping and airbrushing. Back in the day, the photographers did all the dirty work with lighting and shadows and art. So beautiful!
Did you see the Ralph Lauren dust up over the photo shopped model whose head was bigger than her waist? Seems they forget to shop down her head to match her body and she looked like Ms. Potato head.
I’m glad we had this debate. It was fun. But I still don’t think the fashion industry will go any further than to go back somewhere towards the middle - that would be size 4 or 6 max (if you get a 6 standard on the runway that will be a huge victory). There are always the designers and fashionistas who will go for shock value but as far as size 14s ruling the runways, I don’t think that will happen. In fact, the fashion industry does this every few years. Go back and look at some of the busty models from the 80s. Remember Anna Nicole Smith? She started out as a Guess jeans model and was hailed as the antithesis to the obsession with thinness even back then.
In the same vein, Chris Rock has that documentary coming out called “Good Hair” about the social and self esteem issues black women have with their hair. I often sympathized with black women since my own hair is naturally curly. Hair to me, is weight to you. We’re all running around chasing Jennifer Aniston when she has a $5,000 a day stylist - and her hair, too, is naturally curly.
Women have been killing themselves to achieve unrealistic standard of beauty since the cave man days and I don’t think it’s going to change any time soon. The best thing any woman can do is develop her own sense of style and learn to live in her own skin and the day any woman looks to high fashion for validation is the day she will be sadly disappointed.
It’s been real!
October 13th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Karin, I just can’t resist.
Did you see what Karl Lagerfeld said about “curvy” models? He said it was fat housewives sitting on the couch eating potato chips who called runway models ugly.
Check out the Style section of Huffpost. He pretty much sums it up for me and I had to laugh because he said what everyone is really thinking - except “curvy” women. Ole Karl is one of my favorite fashion figures just because he’s such a wonderful cliche and proud of it. I’m surprised Anna doesn’t walk around with him on a leash.
I also doubt he’s too afraid of alienating “real” women since Chanel doesn’t carry anything over a 12. See, that’s the problem with the battle between high fashion and “real” women. Designers don’t design for sizes over 12 so who cares if
“real” women are all vaklempt about skinny models? I think the Dove girls are going to lose on this one. Vogue might throw them a bone every once in while and some occasional upstart might decide to parade around a few size 14s for a little publicity but it won’t change much in the long run.
Now, be a good sport. You are the one with the blog, not me.
October 13th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I’d be ashamed if I were anything less than appalled and disgusted by Karl Lagerfeld’s comments. What’s admirable about a pompous rich man who thinks the only people who oppose skinny models are women made “curvy” from sitting on the couch all day? Sometimes I wonder if women don’t deserve being objectified this way, since we clearly don’t have sense or compassion enough about the many shapes and sizes we come in to stand together against idiots like this.
Personally, I don’t care about designers, nor do I care about fashion. I don’t have a good eye for clothes, don’t know what looks right on my body, and don’t consider any of it important enough to worry about. I’m baffled by women who spend ridiculous amounts of money on shoes and purses and jewelry. I’m not of that world and wouldn’t want to be. I don’t fit there. And I’m grateful I don’t.
October 13th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Karin! I thought you weren’t taking this too seriously! Now that’s just what I’m talking about.
Girl, please. I told you, Karl Lagerfeld is a buffoon - he’s Anna Wintou’s lap dog. He’s so irrelevant he’s not even relevant enough to say he’s irrelvant yet he has you in a lather.
I will tell you, in another life, I was not a well person because of bad choices in consumption habits because of emotional problems and addiction. Anyway, that boo hoo crap is not the point. I would get extremely, extremely thin. At 5′9″ I would get down to 110 pounds. Now, those “curvy” women you talk about, they would torment me. I was called “the stick”, “bony as*&&s” and “scarecrow.” It was cruel and vicious. It wasn’t the average-weight woment who tormented me but those lovely self-esteem starved Dove girls. But boo hoo, life’s hard that way. Women are that way. They can be catty and cruel and mean so don’t tell me all this is about women being objectified because it’s not. Didn’t you go to high school?
And read the comments by these “curvy” girls? They call the models “freaks” and “coat hangers” and “corpses”. That’s not exactly endearing to their cause and it brings a certain amount of retaliation. They give as good as they get yet cry foul when they’re called on it.
Also, I have been educating children over the past several years. I’m broke. I shop on e-bay. I don’t buy designer but I’m a life long devotee and enjoyer of fashion. I try to dress age and trend appropriate without spending $1000 on a purse. I don’t take fashion’s emphasis on youth personally either as a middle aged woman. I don’t take offense at stick thin Eukranian models wearing $2,000 Christian Leboutin shoes. I just look, then close the magazines and drink a beer.
Besides, if you think the fashion industry’s emphasis on thinness means a good you-know-what to strong women, look at Michelle Obama. She’s clearly not influenced by the weight issue and she’s a fashin icon. Does Michelle Obama look like she stays up nights wrestling with her self esteem? Hell no!
I thought you were being a good sport and then you go and get all reactionary on me like I’m the enemy. I’m not. Watch that video again then cheer up!
Also, I see your photo, you’re obviously a nice looking woman. Enjoy it because you will be kicking yourself one day for not appreciating it more than you are. Instead, you’re wasting time agonizing over sticky models.
October 13th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
It’s odd that the age part of fashion doesn’t bother me, but the thin bit does. I get offended by protruding collar bones, but find it amusing how Photoshop is used to make thin women even thinner. Makes no sense.
As a teenager, especially in junior high, I was one of the tormented because of my resemblance to a coat hanger. I’ve spent time in both camps, but feel more compassion for the outsiders than the thinsiders. (That last was actually a typo, but kind of a cool one so I’m leaving it.)
Truth is, I’m pretty miserable right now and feel more like a fight than a debate, but I’m getting tired of this subject. Want to pick a new topic? Or we could go to a bar for a beer and be all catty about what people are wearing.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I’m always up for a beer and being catty. I have out of town company coming in this week but next week, me and you are going to meet up at the Rug. Of course the Rug is not really a sporting place to be catty about what people are wearing though, and we might get our as*&es kicked if we try, but then that’s part of its charm.
And a new subject? Yes, definitely. But you know you were baiting me with all those stories.
I also got the strong sense that this issue has deeper meaning for you. I know female angst when I see it. Why do we women have such an infinite capacity to feel so incredibly alone? And how can everyone around us be so oblivious to our pain? A*(&holes.
Or we could talk about something cheery like those teenage years you have ahead of you. Will you continue on in the spirit of full disclosure and track your daughter’s transformation from that beautiful little girl into zombie of emotional terrorism?
When I was going through it, people would say “this too shall pass”. And you know what? It’s true. You have a few years but you can start stocking provisions and building your arsenal now. Seek out other women too. They know a lot about his. I had sons so my job was mostly to keep them out of jail. Females, of course, are more complicated.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I expect I’ll be writing less and less about Celeste as she gets older. She still enjoys being written about. Likes the attention it gets her. (I get her ok when I write about her.) She’s always been such an easy kid, but I still dread the teen years and all the catty-ness and dating worries. I can already see complication possibilities on so many fronts.
I’ve actually never been to the Rug, but always wanted to go. Email me off-blog. karinfuller @ cnpapers.com