Everyone is Flawed

http://www.diet-blog.com/about/Fashion%20Industry

There is not one perfect person in the world today. Everyone has something about them that they wish they could change. This is exactly the message that this website is trying to get across to both men and women everywhere. It focuses on the negative effects of the fashion industry, as well as the positive advancements the industry is making- such as banning underweight models in certain fashion shows. It focuses on clothing sizes for normal women and how the female body has changed over time. An example of a top model’s food diary is displayed to show viewers that it is unhealthy to eat in such a manner, as well as health advice from other models. Interesting stories are posted regarding issues that may promote anorexia, like obesity labels on clothing items or plus-size clothing being taken off shelves in certain stores. Whatever the case may be, this website covers important facts relating to the fashion industry and the world. These aspects of this website support ideas mentioned in my blog because they portray the industry in the same light.

The Fashion World Affects All...

http://negativeeffectsofmedia.blogspot.com/2009/04/has-fashion-affected-your-weight.html

The fashion world works closely with the media to send out messages that give society the image of what beauty is. These images are then portrayed in movies, advertisements, and television for all of society to admire. This shows just how big of an influence the fashion world has on the rest of society, including the media. This website demonstrates this issue through a number of different examples. Videos that show bone-thin models walking down runways, comic strips that make fun of these thin models, and videos of celebrities who have taken the thin obsession way too far. One of the videos featured on this website discusses how advertisers emphasize the importance of physical attractiveness to sell products. Women who find themselves unattractive and have low self-esteem are the ones that run out and buy these products because they think that it will improve how they feel about their lives. The diet industry alone is worth $100 billion. The page also features a video of women who are proud to be large and encourage women to love their bodies.

Sources Relating to the Negative Influence of the Fashion Industry

http://www.diet-blog.com/about/Fashion%20Industry

http://negativeeffectsofmedia.blogspot.com/2009/04/has-fashion-affected-your-weight.html

http://www.beautifulyoubyjulie.com/2009/10/first-karl-now-ralph-fashion-industry.html

http://www.dove.ca/en/default.aspx#/cfrb/

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/06/the_ugly_side_o.php

http://the-f-word.org/blog/index.php/2007/11/23/another-fashion-model-dies-of-anorexia-the-world-yawns/

http://www.racialicious.com/2007/04/06/making-the-fashion-industry-think-beyond-a-size-6/

http://www.stylebyme.net/2009/03/18/beyonces-vogue-us-cover-upsets-and-is-racist/

Fashion Expert Talks about Effects of the Fashion Industry

“I think the fashion world portrays a certain image of what beauty and happiness and perfection are. In reality, it is so far from all of those things. The beauty is fake, the happiness is staged and the perfection is flawed.” Health advisor Eva Lemak has seen her fair share of health issues related to eating disorders. Working with both men and women of all ages, Lemak has seen the different patterns and commonalities between people who suffer from eating disorders and related diseases. She explains that though there are many reasons for disorders like anorexia or bulimia, being thin is usually the case. This is especially true for females. In males, however, the most common reason for these habits to start are stress and control issues. She too, believes that the fashion industry plays a part in this problem. Girls and given the image of what they need to look like in order to be truly happy and have the best possible quality of life. “It’s natural for girls to idolize celebrities and models for the work they’ve done, but this will usually lead to them wanted to pursue every quality of their idols; both the good and the bad,” she says. Other health issues that can arise from people who idolize the industry are depression, physical harm to oneself, and attitude problems such as mood swings and temperament issues. Eating disorders, however, are the most common. She goes on the mention that there are many aspects of the fashion industry that we do not see and we only get the stories that these industries want us to get. Girls need to have their own perspectives and find beauty within themselves. Lemak mentions that these issues are really starting to get out of hand and she is seeing more and more people with these problems as her career continues.

Fashion Industry Leads to Suicide of Young Model

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/06/the_ugly_side_o.php

Model Ruslana Korshunova made it clear how she felt about her life as a model as she dove from her Water St. Apartment on Saturday June 28, 2008, killing herself. Korshunova was an up-and-coming model, making a big name for herself in the fashion world and having already appeared on the covers of French Elle and Russian Vogue. Her boyfriend, Mark Kaminsky, says that she was happy and one of the top models. Artem Perchenok, an ex-boyfriend, says that her career was taking off and she was travelling the world. Her blog website, however, featured quotes like, “I’m so lost... Will I ever find myself?” It is clear that this young woman was having some emotional issues and was not as pleased with the life she was living. The fashion industry can have this affect on women. After being turned down many times, or being told that there are things about yourself that need to be changed, depression and emotional instability can arise. Usually, factors like these lead to anorexia or bulimia, but other times problems like drug or alcohol abuse, or even suicide in this case, can become an issue. This website demonstrates yet another influence the fashion world can have on the life of a fashion-icon.

Model Dies of Anorexia, Who Knew?

http://the-f-word.org/blog/index.php/2007/11/23/another-fashion-model-dies-of-anorexia-the-world-yawns/

It seems as if models dying of anorexia-related illnesses are so common today that whenever a new model is found dead, it hardly makes the news. Hila Elmalich, an Israeli model, died of a heart failure on November 14, 2007. Her death was just another in a string of deaths that have occurred as a result of anorexia. Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolina Reston were two others who lost their lives to their obsession with being thin. The fact that Elmalich’s story was seen as barely newsworthy is horrifying because that just shows how a model dying of anorexia has become a commonality in society today. We hear stories like this so often that it is hard to act surprised when new stories come around that another model has died. This page really helps support my blog theory that the fashion industry can have this kind of impact on a young woman; so much that it leads to her death. It is stories like this one where the fashion industry has manipulated a young woman so badly, that it actually results in her refusing to eat. In an ideal world, the death of these girls would terrify other models and people struggling with eating disorders and make them change their ways immediately. However, because these stories are not even making news anymore, young girls out there have no idea that these issues are going on, and therefore, feel that what they are doing to their bodies comes with little to no consequences. The fashion world continues to hide these scandals and young women all over the world continue to buy into its lies.

Not Everyone Wears a Size Zero

http://www.racialicious.com/2007/04/06/making-the-fashion-industry-think-beyond-a-size-6/

“The most popular dress size in America- a 14, so why can I never find one?” These are the words of plus-size model, Liis Windischmann, who, along with plus-size model Diane Pellini, is sick of the fashion industry ignoring the fact that not everyone wears a size zero. If it is fact that a size 14 is the most common size in America, then why is it that the fashion industry focuses its business toward people of small sizes? These models are trying to act as voices of the common women of America, letting the fashion industry know that people who wear larger sizes should be able to find nice clothing that fits them. Pellini states that because of the fashion industry, "voluptuous beauty went from sexy to fat." This is another example of the fashion industry acting like the larger population does not exist and that the only people who are worthy of nice clothing are the same people who are thin enough to be models in the fashion industry. This webpage relates to my blog because it focuses on how insignificant the fashion industry can make a person feel and how it only cares about slim people.

Coincidence or Racism?

http://www.stylebyme.net/2009/03/18/beyonces-vogue-us-cover-upsets-and-is-racist/

Is it coincidence or racism? It seems that every issue of high fashion magazines, like Vogue, feature the “ideal” looking models plastered on their covers month after month. It’s a nice change when you can pick up a copy of a magazine to find a woman of colour gracing the cover page. However, how coincidental is it that the issue with a black woman on the cover, such as Beyoncé Knowles, happens to be the “shape” issue? Is it just that Beyoncé happens to be a woman with curves, or is it the stereotypical explanation that women of colour are curvier than white women? When I take a look at Beyoncé on the cover of this magazine, I would hesitate to classify her as even remotely over-weight. The website that features this issue relates to my topic in two ways. Not only is the fashion industry exaggerating the celebrity’s weight, but it is doing this in a racist manner at the same time. Though it seems as if this magazine is promoting being curvy and loving your body, there is a hidden message. Really, the point being made is that women of colour are stereotypically heavier than white women, and that people who have a similar body type to the very, in my opinion, slim looking Beyoncé, are considered “curvy”.

The Fashion Industry Lacks Colour

No matter how bright the newest fashions are as they make their way down the runway, the fashion world still lacks colour. The industry lacks the use of black, Asian and Latina models. It has formed an image of the “perfect model”- that being the blue-eyed, blonde-haired and slender looking woman. Anything that goes against this image is rarely seen in the industry. Many people have tried voicing opinions regarding the matter but designers say it is their artistic right to have whoever they want modelling their clothing. Supermodel Naomi Campbell is one of those voices. As a black woman herself, Campbell has spent most of her career trying to promote women of colour in the fashion industry. Along with some of the world's top black supermodels, Campbell launched a campaign against race discrimination in the fashion industry. Her goal was to change the way women of colour are seen in high fashion. Few changes started to arise, however, these changes were soon forgotten and women of colour ended up right back where they started in the eyes of the fashion world. She states that this issue is at its worst since the 1960s. "This year, we have gone back all the way that we had advanced," she says.

Our Perception of Beauty is Distorted

Beauty is a concept that is mistaken. It has been mistaken on magazine covers, billboards, bus shelters and just about anywhere else we find the fashion industry’s perception of “models”. Young girls have this theory that these plastic faces are what some women wake up looking like every morning. These girls have no idea that these young women are not the same people they see in the media. It is almost as if a picture of a model is not that model as a person, but merely an image that was in a way “inspired” by that model and modified. Dove released this short clip as part of their Campaign for Real Beauty to show young women how "distorted" society's perception of beauty really is. By being able to visually show how an average looking woman can be transformed into a younger, more attractive looking model, girls everywhere might alter their views on models in magazines and on television. Videos like this one are what young girls should focus their perceptions of beauty on. With the help of make-up, camera tricks, airbrushing, and other photo-retouching techniques, spectators can be fooled into thinking that the almost robotic perfection of these models is actually real. Girls need to see that it is not worth striving for to look like the women on the covers of the magazines because no one actually looks it in reality.

Ralph Lauren Takes Skinny to a New Level

It's bad enough how anorexia is promoted in the fashion industry today, but how about being invisible? Looking at this Ralph Lauren advertisement makes you wonder, if this young woman turns to the side, will we still be able to see her? Ralph Lauren has been known for using impossibly skinny models in his clothing ads and then denying the use of Photoshop and other retouching tools to make these models look so thin. Being a famous designer, millions of young women are going to see this ad in magazines, on billboards, on bus stops and pretty much everywhere else they turn. One look at this ad could leave a person striving to look the way this model does, even when this is not the model's true body. Ads like this are a major reason for eating disorders in society today. Girls see beautiful models like the one presented in the Ralph Lauren advertisement, take one look at their bodies, and think that this is what they need to look like. This is not the first time Ralph Lauren has pulled something like this out of his pocket either. He knows what he is facing and what impact he will have on millions of young women, yet continues to publish ads like this one.