With the dust of London Fashion Week having settled, it’s time to face the facts of the dark side of the industry. It’s no secret that the modeling industry has been exploiting underage and underweight models for decades.

 

However, with celebrities, bloggers and, of course, the clothes being the main attraction at every Fashion Week, these deeper issues are often overlooked.

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Australian model Rosalie Nelson was told to slim down by her agency so that her “bones could stick out more.” After having already lost several pounds, she began an online petition to speak out against the issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaining support of MP Carolie Nokes, Rosalie is adamant to make a change to the modeling world. She says: “There is an increasing number of young models that fly around the world for fashion week from Russia and Eastern Europe.

 

Often, they’re mislead by agencies who tell them that they need to lose weight in order to appear on billboards for Chanel or Prada. Being so young, it really has an impact on their mental health.”

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For members of the public that don’t have insider knowledge of the fashion industry, Rosalie sheds light on several issues that often go unnoticed.

 

“The conditions models live in are extremely isolating. Young models travel from country to country and live in shared flats with other models. The pressure to remain thin is bad, however the competition between the girls makes things a lot harder mentally,” she says.

 

In light of this however, there is an evident movement towards embracing curvy bodies. Daughter of Knight Rider actor David Hasselhoff, Hayley Hasselhoff, a size 18 model, led a campaign outside London Fashion Week venue 180 The Strand along with Callie Thorpe, a size 26 model and six other bikini clad models.

 

The girls braved the cold as part of their diversity campaign questioning the lack of curvy models on the catwalk. The protest was aimed to celebrate women of all shapes and sizes, urging designers to use larger models during their shows at Fashion Week.