This past March, French Elle Magazine showed plus size models for the first time, causing a small stir in the fashion industry. I mentioned Renn in my last article about Glamour Magazine’s 20th Anniversary show. She was discovered as a teenager by a model scout who casually remarked that she would make it big as a model if she lost weight—10” off her 43” hips. Crystal embarked on an obsessive drastic starvation diet and exercise program. She dropped from a healthy size to a zero in a matter of months.
She spent three years modeling on this extensive regime, exercising up to eight hours a day at the gym and living on lettuce. Afterwards, she rebelled and signed on to a different agency that supported larger models and has never looked back. She is now a size 8 and although her weight sometimes fluctuates, she has never been busier.
The climate is changing with the use of more shapely models. Some of the agencies send the girls to a nutritionist and a dietitian to help them eat well. A plus size model starts at size 8. The average American women is a size 12. Dress sizes for the regular modeling agencies start at size 0. Unfortunately, there have been deaths of very young overly thin models.
Fashion designers typically base their collection around models they have hired to wear their garments on the catwalk. Those same size clothes are then sent to fashion magazines for photo shoots. Six months later, the clothing hits the stores in standard sizes.
At the moment, there is a growing trend for a healthier looking model, and many Hollywood movie stars now grace the covers of beauty magazines. Magazines are finally listening to the requests of their readers who are wish to see pages full of normal looking models they can relate to. Let’s hope this trend continues.
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Sylvia Hamowy is the owner of Reflections Cosmetics. She is a professional makeup artist, beauty editor and former radio show host. She is featured in the International Who’s Who of Entrepreneurs.
