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How Thin Is Too Thin?
21-Oct-2009
Written by: Stephanie Pappas
The pressures agencies put on runway models to be thin is daunting, but they can also be emotionally damaging, leading to serious illness or death.
Recent controversy-stricken supermodel Filappa Hamilton, the five-foot-ten, 120-pound beauty who has worked with Ralph Lauren since 2002, was caught off-guard by an entirely emancipated photo of her latest shoot.
"I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face," she said in an interview with Daily News. "It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that."
Filappa also admitted that in April Ralph Lauren had fired her for being “too fat,” which raises the question, when is thin too thin?
The debate over too-thin models has been ever-present in the fashion world, especially within the past couple of years. The result has been agencies cracking down on the health of their models, ultimately firing those who appear beyond skinny. But for some the warning comes too late.
Charlotte Carter: Banned from London Fashion Week in 2007, Carter was prohibited from walking the runway on account of her five-foot-ten, size zero frame, reported Daily Mail. Her agency, Model 1, suggested she attempt to gain more weight in order to look healthy.
“It was like a psychological wall coming down,” she said in regard to her weight. “It helped me to finally realize that I was too thin.”
Ana Carolina Reston: Obsessed with the idea of being skinny, personal struggles with her own image led to the tragic death of this 21-year-old model, reported Guardian. Once told that she was “too fat” in China, her decent into anorexia began, her life ending due to multiple organ failure, septicemia and a urinary infection.
Luisel Ramos: Starving herself for days before a runway show for Fashion Week in Montevideo, Uruguay, Ramos allegedly collapsed walking back to the runway, dying of heart failure. According to Fifty-Something Women, the model had eaten nothing more than leafy vegetables and Coke for up to two weeks before the show. She was 22.
Lily Cole: Though she is thin and often thrown into the too-skinny spotlight, Cole fights back confidently saying she is healthy, reported Telegraph. This size zero, 21-year-old who has modeled for labels such as Prada, Moschino and Lacroix refuses to be subjected to criticism.
Cole said "When half the world is starving and a good proportion of the other half is suffering from obesity, to put me on the front page is ridiculous.”
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