It’s fashion week in Milan and to celebrate, fashion brand No-l-ita has unveiled its latest advertising campaign with billboards around the city. Presumably, it’s less about selling clothes than raising awareness about anorexia. The image is of Isabelle Caro, a 27 year old 31kg anorexic who has her own blog site. She says she’s suffered from anorexia since she was 13 due to "a difficult childhood".
She adds: "I’ve hidden myself
and covered myself for too long.
Now I want to show myself
fearlessly, even though I know my
body arouses repugnance.
"I want to recover because I
love life and the riches of the
universe. I want to show young
people how dangerous this
illness is."
The fashion company said in a statement
that photographer Olivier Toscani’s aim was "to
use the naked body to show
everyone the reality of this
illness, caused in most cases by
the stereotypes imposed by the
world of fashion".
Cynical shock tactics? Or a welcome dose of reality for an industry who refuses to acknowledge that it has a problem among models. Let alone take responsibility for the effect its impossible imagery has on the rest of us.
I still don’t believe skinny models cause eating disorders but should they be held up as the single image of beauty in our society? No. Way.
Comments
11 Comments so far
Wow, good on you Isabelle Caro! what an amazingly brave thing for you to do. The reality of anorexia is scary and heartbreaking! Good luck with your recovery xxx
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OK so the media may not be the single cause of anorexia but they certainly don’t help either!
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It’s hard to believe those photos would make it on a billboard! A confronting image and most definitely shock tactics.
The sad thing is that some people don’t realise different people are born with different body types. Some are naturally slim and don’t put on weight easily while others do.
I think women have to understand their own body and how it works (ie. if you eat junk for a week, how will your body react vs if you keep up a regular exercise and healthy eating regime) rather than simply comparing themselves to the women they see in the spotlight.
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Omg this was real? Not retouched?? Really? Poor girl. I cant keep off my food, i love food.
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thin models do cause eating disorders in my opinion
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Thin models don’t necessarily cause eating disorders, but they do provide young, psychologically disturbed women with a dangerous medium through which to express their emotional problems. In other words, the fact that thinness exists as an ideal means that it is a option for these women/girls. Which should be reason enough for magazines/advertising gurus to promote a range of body-sizes and images.
In any case, the real focus should be on creating the social conditions necessary for ALL WOMEN to feel good about their bodies. Because no matter how seemingly bullet proof one’s self esteem, no matter how great your partner, family and friends are, how many languages you speak and how many degrees you have, it is impossible – neurologically impossible – not to affected by the hundreds of images of glamorous women we encounter while going about our business – walking the dog, going to work, opening our hotmail account, reading a magazine, watching the Television.
Frankly, our neuro transmitters are just no match for this level of assault!
To sum up – feeling bad about our bodies should not be a condition of our existence.
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I fainted, nothing more, nothing less.
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Ugh, that’s really horrifying. Her face looks alien and freakish. I’m always looking down at my pot belly and feeling guilty for being so lazy (even though I’ve had two kids), but seeing that image makes me feel like I’m beautiful and healthy.
The world is seriously bonkers. We hoiked our telly last week, and even though I’m going through some major withdrawals, I’m glad to not be exposed to the insidious marketing campaigns that get under your skin and make you feel inadequate.
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Yeah Richard, I did a bit. The industry was usually horrified and I’m sure my fellow editors rolled their eyes. The readers always loved it though and circulation and readership showed it. What scares me just as much now is re-touching. So now it’s not just that they’re skinny, they also have plastic looking skin and literally impossible faces, bodies and clothes created on a computer.
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That is almost worse than just very skinny models. I thought magazines were supposed to state on the picture if it had been retouched but I have never seen this written anywhere.
I remember shopping in GAP in Tokyo once and looking at the models on the posters in store, I couldn’t believe how thin they were and felt sad that I couldn’t fit into the clothes and look that good (I’d never had trouble in GAP in London, but Japanese sizes are much smaller). It took me a moment to realise the model was about 15 and I was 30. It really irked me that I felt bad about myself for that moment, that I felt inadequate for the simple fact I was no longer my former 15-year-old-tiny body size anymore.
Media may not cause eating disorders directly, but unrealistic images such as these and retouched pictures (e.g. Elle McPherson must have some wrinkles by now, surely) make us doubt ourselves. This leaves us vulnerable and that is when disorders can begin to take root.
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“Cynical shock tactics?” YES AND “a welcome dose of reality for an industry who refuses to acknowledge that it has a problem among models.” MONEY SPEAKS ALL LANGUAGES!
“Let alone take responsibility for the effect its impossible imagery has on the rest of us.” EXACTLY!
“I still don’t believe skinny models cause eating disorders but should they be held up as the single image of beauty in our society? No way.” AGREE 100%
Obviously, I couldn’t have said it better myself, Mia.
As a former Managing Editor of magazines dealing with, amongst other things, fashion, you were well placed to form these views. But, I wonder how often you tried to highlight the false ideals imposed by the fashion industry?
I’m sure you did try.
No doubt it would have been difficult to resist the immense pressures…
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