Health Of Models On The Catwalks - Model Health Inquiry Publishes Interim Report

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 12 Jul 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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Baroness Denise Kingsmill, Chairman of the Independent Model Health Inquiry, established by the British Fashion Council to look into the health of models on the catwalks at London Fashion Week, recently published the Inquiry's Interim Report containing outline recommendations to ensure the industry behaves responsibly and in the best interests of those models who help make a success of London Fashion Week.

The Interim Report highlights a range of potential actions emerging from the discussions and the evidence presented to the Inquiry since the Inquiry started in May this year. The Inquiry welcomes responses to the Interim Report to help inform the Final Report which will include firm recommendations and be published in September.

The full Interim Report has been published recently. The following extract highlights the recommendations:

1. To initiate and develop a model health education and awareness programme in partnership with the industry, including:

-- a. Holding workshops to teach industry partners (designers, agents) how to identify and advise models with eating disorders;
-- b. Establishing a healthy backstage environment and providing good quality, food;
-- c. Recruiting experienced models to host peer workshops to provide practical advice to younger models;
-- d. Developing an advice and support website for models, parents, agencies and casting directors, supplemented by a telephone helpline, setting out the signs and symptoms of eating disorders and where to go for expert help
-- e. Seeking opportunities for international collaboration in order to achieve best practice in a global industry

2. The Panel believes there is a positive case for establishing a representative body or union for the modeling profession.

3. We would welcome a detailed investigation into the working conditions of models and would encourage the Work Foundation to include the modeling profession in their research programme into 21 st century employment and would hope that proper funding was provided for this.

4. Backstage environments should be demonstrably drug free and the British Fashion Council should also ensure the rigorous enforcement of no smoking backstage at London Fashion Week following the recent introduction of smokefree work environments.

5. We are not convinced that weighing models is a useful way forward; examples of this action in other countries has been ineffective and a focus on weighing models can be counterproductive.

6. The Panel would like to see a rigorous scientific study carried out into the prevalence of eating disorders among fashion models and the presence of vulnerability factors that are associated with them.

7. The Panel would welcome responses to an approach based on BMIs or codes of conduct. In particular we are interested in views on the impact of introducing guidance that models with BMIs below 18.5 should not appear during London Fashion Week.

8. The British Fashion Council has already issued advice to designers that models under 16 should not be used during London Fashion Week but the Panel believes that this should go further and that models aged below 16 should be banned from the catwalks during London Fashion Week, given the particular vulnerability of this age group and the risk of the sexual exploitation of children in requiring them to represent adult women. We would also like to see additional protection for models aged between 17 and 18, including chaperoning at shows and better support made available.

9. We believe there is scope for a campaign through informed media coverage and campaigns to encourage designers to embrace a healthier image and would welcome campaign proposals.

10. The British Fashion Council should work with the Association of Model Agents to develop minimum requirements and best practice standards for agencies booking models. Agencies would be expected to arrange medical checks including screening for eating disorders when taking a model on their books and follow up with annual checks, particularly with those trained in an understanding of eating disorders. They would also need to offer:

-- Clear contracts for assignments
-- Health training for staff
-- Mentoring or buddy systems
-- Access to a counsellor
-- Systematic debriefing systems for past photoshoots

11. A formal licensing system for model agencies should be established, regulated by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and delivered in partnership with the Association of Model Agents and the British Fashion Council. Minimum requirements of achieving the licence would include medical checks and clear contracts for models and health training for staff.

12. There is a clear case for the government to examine streamlining the regulation of the industry and appointing a single authority to have responsibility for enforcement of regulation in the fashion industry. Could / should this be the British Fashion Council?

13. Therefore, we would welcome responses particularly from British Fashion Council sponsor organisations and its major funders on the availability of financing or new sources of funding for any wider role. We are also interested in views on whether the British Fashion Council's Memorandum of Association should be amended to reflect a role that embraces support for models working during London Fashion Week.

Commenting in the Interim Report published, Baroness Kingsmill said: "The Panel has set out an approach designed to protect vulnerable young workers in an industry which appears to be glamorous but which has hidden risks and that for all practical purposes is largely unregulated and unmonitored. We believe that as an independent body the British Fashion Council is best placed to support the interests of fashion models working during London Fashion Week.

"However, we are conscious that many of our interim proposals put additional responsibilities on the British Fashion Council that will require additional resources to fulfill an extended role.

"In a highly competitive world market Britain maintains a place at the heart of the global fashion industry. London Fashion Week continues to rank alongside New York, Paris and Milan as one of the 'big four' events in the creative calendar but faces increasing competition from emerging new centres anxious to supplant the traditional creative capitals.

"During our investigations members of the Panel became increasingly concerned as we heard more details about the working conditions faced by many models and the vulnerability of young women working in an unregulated and scarcely monitored work environment. We have been given startling medical evidence about the prevalence and impact of eating disorders in certain high risk industries. Working conditions for models are far from transparent and there is a worrying lack of information about the overall profession.

"Representatives of the modeling profession told the Panel that they would welcome a range of channels of support, including easy to access advice on financial and contractual matters as well as on health and dietary issues. There was high approval for mentoring schemes but recognition of the practical difficulties posed to such schemes by models' working patterns.

"A London Development Agency Report singles out designer fashion as having the potential for growth greater than 4 per cent over the next decade, suggesting if London can capitalise on the demand for more highend clothing it could create 40,000 jobs across the fashion sector as a whole.

"However, the Panel also heard more gloomy analysis from those closely involved in the industry about the increased threat to London as a leading fashion centre from hungry new venues including Madrid, Tokyo, Rio and Sydney. The high cost of accommodation in London is already acting as a barrier to journalists and buyers selecting which fashion weeks to attend and model agencies report pressure on fees while models from the emerging economies of Eastern Europe and South America are proving major competition to homebased model.

"Significantly, the UK industry has a distinctive structure that is fragmented and characterised by a large number of small labels, which is in contrast to the multinational brands that dominate the industry in the Italy France and the US.

As a result designers almost always undertake both design and production and frequently retail their collections as well.

"Fragmentation of the industry and the high profile of London Fashion Week which last February hosted 49 onschedule catwalk shows over 6 days and attracted a record 5,000 visitors create a dual problem. The scale of London Fashion Week puts it in a position that requires a high level of responsibility for the wellbeing of its participants that goes beyond simple creative excellence.

"The Panel has heard from experts who hold the strong view that a BMI limit would be the most effective intervention to reduce the prevalence of eating disorders in the modeling profession and the general population. Models should be weighed prior to going on the catwalk to ensure they are not underweight, and banned if their BMI falls below 18.5, the College of Psychiatrists has proposed.

"Other contributors have argued that BMI is a blunt instrument that is not necessarily effective in dealing with eating disorders. The Panel heard that BMI is not necessarily an accurate measure and it is not foolproof in identifying whether someone is suffering from Bulimia Nervosa - a more common eating disorder.

"Working hours for children aged 15 and 16 are restricted by law. However, the hours that young models spend at casting sessions are not covered because these are not considered paid employment. In addition, rules surrounding the chaperoning of young models are in practice difficult to enforce and their effectiveness depends greatly on the level of parental interest, the Panel heard "There was also strongly expressed concern that it is profoundly inappropriate that girls under 16 - under the age of consent - should be portrayed as adult women. The risk of sexualising these children was high and designers could risk charges of sexual exploitation.

"Many models participating in the Inquiry said that there was always a fear of not being selected for work because they were not thin enough. With this range of evidence raising awareness of the dangers of eating disorders and how to spot symptoms is vitally important.

"Enforcement of regulations governing the fashion industry and the employment of models - particularly younger models - is complex and unclear. Contributors to the inquiry pointed out that too many organizations have overlapping responsibilities and established model agencies complained that enforcement of cowboy organizations is weak. "

Model Health Inquiry

British Fashion Council

UK Fashion Industry

The designer fashion industry is an important sector in the UK's increasingly significant knowledge economy. Latest estimates put the industry's Gross Value Added at £384 million in 2004 and it supports 2,400 firms which employ around 9,300 workers. The total value of the men's and women's designer clothing markets in 2005 was estimated at £1,820 million.