So much attention is being placed on Kirstie Clements right now about a book she wrote and a lot of the attention is being focused on her getting fired last May from her 25 year position at editor-in-chief of Australian Vogue. Which I understand because the short bio of Kristie on the cover says “From front desk to Editor” So, yeah, I can see why we’re focused on her getting fired but really, I can’t imagine that buying editorial spreads from US Vogue could be inspiring after a certain number of years, say 1 or 2. Pretty much, I would say that while at times it was probably fun to say you were the editor-in-chief at Australian Vogue, it probably also became annoying to be the head of the “Vogue from down-under.”
Now, we don’t hear much about Australian Vogue but apparently there were some sick things going on behind closed doors that no one suspected. As a matter of fact, Kristie tell us that this is an industry problem. Her tell-all book is called The Vogue Factor. In it she describes the horrendous methods models use to keep their weight down. Like feeding tubes and eating tissue. What the hell.
Nobody in their right mind watches girls eat tissues and be put on feeding tubes and continues to turn a blind eye while making money buying spreads for their magazine featuring these girls. Who would do that? In any other business, I’m pretty sure you would get fired. Oh, um, nevermind.
At any rate, big surprise, models starve themselves. They don’t eat for days at a time. In order to make this brief I thought I’d share with you some of the methods used by models to stay thin and also some of the ones not used.
TYPICALLY USED TO LOSE WEIGHT
1. Juice fast
2. Exercise
3. Diets
4. Supplements: vitamins, minerals, metabolism
5. Bulimia (never a good idea and it doesn’t really work anyways)
6. Rehabs for eating disorders
7. Moving around from country to country (stress burns calories)
8. Boot camps
9. Illicit drugs
10. Plastic surgery or fasting spas
WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT THAT ARE NOT USED:
1. Feeding tubes
2. Eating tissue
3. Eating cotton balls (I don’t care which model said it happened, it was probably a joke an intern made)
4. Starving to the point of passing out. (Ok, I did see that once. But it was rare and her agents got her help)
Trust me, the girls that you don’t see eating on set were going home to eat. The pressure to stay thin becomes a strange set of unspoken rules of when it’s ok to eat and when it’s not ok. At any rate, WHY DIDN’T KRISTIE SAY SOMETHING WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING????
Now, for another reality check. The agents I worked with sent girls to get help when they were having a difficult time losing weight, developing unhealthy habits, hurting themselves with substances and having breakdowns. It’s a tough business and some do slip through the cracks but for the most part, agents are supportive and do everything they can to help girls with legit eating disorders or substance abuse problems. It’s not something that goes unnoticed.
Also I’m also confused about the title: THE VOGUE FACTOR. What does that mean? It should be made clear that Anna Wintour herself sent a model to rehab for eating disorders and then had her write an article about it to bring awareness about the problem. And she did that while she was in office. She also started the yearly body issue and age issue. Anna has also stepped up as a huge supported of the health initiative and has begun conversations with leading experts in the field of nutrition to help solve this epidemic in the industry. So, my question is what Vogue factor is Kristie referring to? Her own?
Everyone in the industry is aware that it isn’t perfect so why this book needed to be written is unclear to me. Of course, it is salacious and intriguing but really, who cares how big models are or how they stay so slender? I’m personally interested in the topic because I was one of those models that had a very difficult time staying thin. But forget my personal interest in the size of a mode, isn’t the real issue here about the messaging we’re sending out? Shouldn’t it be based on fact?
The main thing that Kristie Clements’ book tells me is that she saw a problem going on and for a quarter of a century and turned a blind eye to it. Why? If it’s even true that girls were hooked into feeding tubes and eating tissue, why wait 25 years before you speak up? The industry need solutions not spankings.
John Galliano was meant to teach a 3 day course entitled “Show Me Emotion” This master class was in part going to include a student conversation with John. In an email that went out to the students regarding the cancellation, Parsons President Daid E.Van Zandt wrote: “a critical element of a New School education is the connection between creative and intellection invention and an individual’s actions in the world at large. While we understand the pressures that Mr. Galliano faces, we expected to invite students, faculty and staff to ask Mr. Galliano how is trajectory as a designer was changed by his offensive remarks and to learn from that example. We continue to believe there is room at Parsons to explore Mr. Galliano’s efforts to make amends for his actions…it is certain this would not have been an easy or comfortable conversation but our mission is to provide uncommon learning opportunities…”
