Vogue has placed a blanket ban on all underage and ‘ill’ models in their publications – but it might not be enough…
After years of criticism about the use of models under the age of 16 and those with unhealthy bodies, Vogue has finally made its position clear.
All 16 editions of the magazine worldwide have released a statement: no more underage or ‘ill’ models. It’s an effort to change the shape of the modelling industry.
Anorexia, bulimia and heavy dieting are a strong undercurrent in the modelling world – a Victoria’s Angel caught criticism for admitting that she stops eating solids before a show, and Crystal Renn has become the poster girl for life post-eating disorder.
Underage modelling has also been a concern for years, with poor regulation and designers willing to bend the rules: under-16 models will frequently work up to 18-hour days, often until 2 or 3am, during Fashion Weeks. It’s illegal and Vogue is cracking down.
All Vogues published a six-point ‘health pact’ in their June issues, promising that all girls are of legal age, ‘well cared for’ and given help by the magazine. Many young models have predatory experiences in the industry – Carrie Otis published an explosive memoir about her abuse by a modelling agent, and Karen Mulder suffered a breakdown in the mid 1990s after poor treatment by the agency.
Erin O’Connor attempted to set up a ‘safe space’ for models during Fashion Week in London, with food, meditation and counsellors, but it faltered due to lack of sponsorship – models simply have to work too hard during Fashion Week to spare the time for well-being.
Casting directors will now double-check ages of girls at shoots, and institute healthier working conditions backstage at shows and shoots, including a previously unknown thing – privacy for the models.
It’s all very positive – but it remains to be seen whether Vogue can pull it off…
Image: Vogue.
Sometimes it seems fashion spends most of its time in the law courts. This, however, is the weirdest lawsuit Rescu. has ever heard: Burberry is suing… deceased Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart.
Yes, you read that right. And the lawsuit was prompted by, of all things, a Facebook post.
Humphrey Bogart – who, if you’ve never heard of him, was the star of Casablanca and married Lauren Bacall – has been dead since 1957, but he’s in the middle of a legal row about the Burberry trench coat he wore in Casablanca.
Burberry licensed a still picture of him in the final scene of the 1942 film and published it on their Facebook page, intending to emphasise the ‘long history’ of the brand. However, they now say they’ve been threatened by the owners of Bogart’s image, who are insisting it’s a violation of trademark rights.
Burberry is going in with the big guns. They’ve sued Bogart’s image holders, saying they have the right to the First Amendment and weren’t using the picture – which is very stylish – to sell trench coats, just to show how old and distinguished the brand is.
That might be splitting hairs for the judge – but how many judges in their lifetime get to preside over a case entitled “Burberry V Humphrey Bogart”?
One thing’s for sure – Rescu. wouldn’t want Lauren Bacall, Bogart’s incredibly glamourous and sharp-tongued wife (who now lives in Paris and once dumped Frank Sinatra), coming after us.
Image: Casablanca.
