Zero Tolerance

Fashion desk joins the “size zero” debate

By Leana Crookes

It’s virtually unavoidable; every shop you go into has rows and rows of magazines screaming “pics of skinny celebs,” “worries over dramatic weight- loss”. The “size zero” problem, however out of style its allegedly becoming, is still very much at large. You might not see many skinny minnies of “size zero” proportions skipping up and down the stairs of Cardiff’s student union just yet, but fashion is now forcing young women around the country to reassess their waistlines.

The media fire surrounding the “size zero” issue has once again been set alight by the onset of London Fashion Week, where the government has urged the British Fashion council to reconsider the participation of underweight models. After the shocking deaths of two ultra- slim catwalk models due to heart failure and anorexia, the British Fashion council still refuse to ban underweight models from their catwalks. Surely this is sending out the wrong message; basically condoning eating disorders and crash dieting. Anyone who has ever attended a professional fashion show will tell you that all high-end fashion models are ridiculously slim in person. In theory, they should represent the small, freakish sector of the population that were born to be 5 ft 11 and a UK size 6, but increasing pressures to be even skinnier are now pushing models to extreme measures to lose weight.

What people seem to be forgetting, is that young women have always looked up to slim role models. Just examine the fashion icons of the past; Audrey Hepburn, svelte in her LBD or Jackie O, teetering around in her giant shades. With the exception of Marilyn Monroe, being slim has always been synonymous with being glamourous, so what has suddenly turned this to an unhealthy obsession? It has been more recently, when the supermodel has crossed over into the super-celebrity, that we as a nation have begun to look to Models as fashion icons. Twiggy might have been the first ever supermodel, but since then iconic figures like Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss have not only been gracing the covers of fashion magazines, but can also be found in the pages of Heat and Now. Likewise, as models have crossed over into celebrity, it is now the actresses of the big screen that women look to as their fashion icons.

As a result, celebrities have become virtual clothes hangers who are just used to endorse the latest Birkin Bag or McQueen Skull Scarf. Although the media does encourage us to be disgusted by these women’s skinniness, you will often find the latest fad diet printed alongside poor Kate Bosworth looking gaunt in that must-have Missoni bikini. This unhealthy and confusing message markets the “size zero” as a trend that some dedicated followers of fashion might think that they actually have to succumb to.

It’s not just magazines that are guilty of promoting the “size zero”; television shows like Make me a Supermodel and America’s Next Top Model actively encourage us to observe these creatures like they are animals in a zoo, bringing us face to face with the models’ weight battles and self-esteem issues. This gross fascination with thesupposedly ‘beautiful people’ is simply getting out of hand.

Gone are the days when women aspired to be healthy, curvaceous and natural. Believe you me, there is nothing stylish about looking like you are about to keel over. Just take Victoria Beckham’s attempt to pull off the Roland Mouret’s Galaxy dress back in October; the only way to rock that frock is with a serious set of curves. Although it is true that fashion has no mercy when it comes to favouring the slender frame, you can still be slim and healthy at the same time.

So fellow fashionistas take note; being “size zero” will definitely get you zero fashion cred as far as we’re concerned.