age issues: how young is too young?
The Council of Fashion Designers of America Health Initiative panel recently held a discussion on “The Beauty of Health: Resizing the Sample Size.” It was said that models below the age of 18 shouldn’t be allowed to work in the industry. Casting agent James Scully said, ”I am running out of girls to cast my shows with. I would like to see a minimum age of 18. I can’t tell a girl who never even kissed a boy to go out on the runway and be sexy.”
Does it really matter how old a model is? All a model does is wear clothes and showcase them on a ramp! That’s all she is – a clotheshorse. So a model’s age shouldn’t hold any importance. Because wearing clothes and walking are things that we have all been doing since infancy. Why can’t a model do the same? Just because a model wears these clothes and walks on a ramp for money shouldn’t change anything, right?
Wrong.
We see the glamorous side of models walking on catwalks and shooting ad campaigns, but does anyone acknowledge what goes on being the super-exclusive closed doors of the fashion industry?
I can start by telling you, that it is by no means a place suitable for children. For one thing, illegal substances and alcohol are as common in the fashion industry as say, sandwiches and coffee are in an IT firm. Models are subjected to all sorts of pressure – to be thinner, to network better, to eat less, to work out more, to be seen in the right places, at the right parties – the list is endless
Modelling is an industry that judges your face, your nose, your eyebrows, your chin until you are no longer even sure if you are indeed beautiful. Is it really fair to have a young girl who is in any case struggling with the insecurities of being a teenager, subjected to such grueling scrutiny and judgment?
The fashion industry is an environment where putting on a pound is a cardinal sin and the price for atonement is to face humiliation and to be subjected to criticism from the industry leaders. If you thought high school was bad, imagine something about a thousand times worse. THAT is what models have to go through almost everyday of their lives.
There is no denying that wearing high-end Chanel couture and mixing with the “elites” of our society is something that anyone would want to be a part of, but is it really worth the price models have to pay? Sure, the money is great. But is that money a fair trade for innocence and childhood? Is it worth having to grow up precociously? Is it fair for a fourteen year old to have to act as though she is twenty-four just to be a part of the industry?
Some may think that this rule is worth implementing while others would strongly disagree. Some may say that the earlier one starts out, the more the chance they have of making it big. A model’s career lasts for only as long as she looks young; which usually means that they can wave the industry goodbye on their 30th birthday. So starting at 15 would give a model, not only more experience in the industry, but also a longer career. Others would argue that a longer career is no justification for giving up one’s childhood.
To say that this is a debatable issue is an understatement. Everyone is bound to have an opinion on a matter like this, but the person whose opinion should really matter – the model’s, is one that is hardly ever taken into consideration.
