Thin Models

Many people decry the very thin fashion models, commonly seen treading the catwalk or in photo displays. Thin fashion models are in, which many think has a negative impact on the body image of allwomen, and especially young girls. Most designers clearly state that clothes hang better on thin fashion models. Yet if we look at models from the 1950s or earlier, they didn’t appear to suffer fromlack of beauty due to a slightly fuller figure.
In 1960, average fashion models were about 5’7” (1.7m) and weighed approximately 129 pounds (58.51 kg). Currently average fashion models are two inchestaller and weigh about 114 pounds (51.7 kg). While fashion models from the 1960s had a healthy body mass index (BMI), this trend would soon change with a British model named Twiggy. Suddenly thin becamesensational, with a 91-pound Twiggy leading the charge.

With a thin-obsessed culture like America, many look at fashion models wearing clothes, and hope such clothes will make them look just asthin and, some say attractive. Studies show that women tend to respond more positively to products advertised on thinner fashion models. However, designers in Spain in 2006 made a clear statement bysetting minimum weight and BMI requirements for models. This perhaps represents a turning point in the fashion industry toward encouraging healthier weights among models.
High fashion plus size modelsis one trend begun the 1990s has become increasingly more popular. In 2006, there are many women with a much higher than average size catering to the plus size clothing market. These women are in manycases, just another representation of beauty. In fact, had they been born in the 17th century, or in a different country in some cases, they would have been considered far more beautiful than thinfashion models, since plumpness was a desirable quality, and continues to be in some cultures.

* Models under 16 are banned from the runway and models under 18 shouldn't work past midnight....