Powerful? Courageous? Disgusting? Over the line? NSFW.

Shimmer

Well-known member
Whether it’s Sisley’s ad featuring models snorting white clothing or Dolce & Gabbana’s fantasy rape campaign, the fashion world is no stranger to shocking images.

But a photo of emaciated 27-year-old Isabelle Caro, an anorexic who weighs just 68 lbs, has received quite a reaction — both good and bad — after it was displayed on Milan billboards as the city celebrates its fashion week.

The French native, to admits her illness is a result of a “difficult childhood”, says: “I’ve hidden myself and covered myself for too long. Now I want to show myself fearlessly, even though I know my body arouses repugnance. I want to recover because I love life and the riches of the universe. I want to show young people how dangerous this illness is.”

Our thoughts on the ad? Thought provoking? Impactful? Is it glamorizing eating disorders? Discuss.

Source.

anorexia-ad.jpg
 

beth_w

Well-known member
I think she's remarkably brave to show everything like that. I don't think there's anything to lose by having this campaign and I DEFINITELY don't think it glamourises eating disorders.
 

Hilly

Well-known member
wow....Look at her facial expression. This truly cannot be glamourous. I see her point that she wants the world to see her this way because it's not beautiful, but her quote is not in the ad. Women suffering from thismay see it as glam and acceptable.

I hate it.
 

Shimmer

Well-known member
I truly don't believe this glamorizes eating disorders, and I am amazed at her courage for throwing herself out there.
 

moonsugar7

Well-known member
What a poignant display of the ravages of anorexia. She looks like she is 50.

I'm all about freedom of speech. Although, I don't know if it has anything other than shock value. I will say that I am glad to see a small thread rising against the weave of fashion, emaciated models aren't good role models, in my opinion.
 

MACATTAK

Well-known member
It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like this. Definitely not anything glamourous, but unfortunately that is her reality
ssad.gif
 

Beauty Mark

Well-known member
I think it's really sad and brave of her to put herself out there, but I do question its effectiveness. IMO, most anorexics, like most people who suffer from mental illness, are not going to be affected by this.

It might stop the people who aren't anorexic but do extreme dieting, though. However, I'm really not convinced that ad campaigns are that effective in general; my generation has been bombarded with information and campaigns about drugs and smoking and yet, a significant portion of people my age and younger do drugs and smoke.
 

dmenchi

Well-known member
I like all those campaigns because they show the truth...what do we really need to see super skinny girls on yachts suntanning- that is total BS and those campaigns reveal the darker sides of society and some aren't even dark just fact...maybe it's not the fashionista society who should adress those issues- but sadly they are the ones with most INFLUENCE, soooorry
winks.gif

I'm not an angry teen (lol- long past that!) but I think we need to recognize truth and quite frankly it's not even shocking! what is shocking, are those pro-virginity add campaigns and 'please parents talk to me' Bs ...do you rather teach your kids BS or the reality ..hmmm something like AIDS..HUH? That makes me soo mad & it's a whole other topic....sorry,ladies..just watched TV -LOL
 

Raerae

Well-known member
There is more to Anarexia then the fashion industry. All this ad is doing is useing the fashion industry as a scapegoat. Even if the fashion industry suddenly banned all thin models and just used women with, "curves." There would be nearly as many anarexics. Considering anarexia effects somewhere along the lines of 3% of the female population in America (not sure on world wide stats), while sad, it's hardly the main cause for conscern when it comes to eating/weight problems that are affecting our country and/or the globe.

So yeh, I think the shock value in that Ad is extremely overrated. And if anything, they are useing the illness to sell their brand of clothes. Which is ironic when u really think about it. Oooh look at this shockingly thin girl, oh yah, and please buy Nolita clothes.

Article from the other thread was good too:
Quote:
Shock poster to stop girls dieting to death
Nick Pisa, Evening Standard
25.09.07 Related Articles
Fashion week? It's the height of folly
Perils of being a fashionista mother

This is the latest shock image to jolt the fashion industry into action over the problem of anorexia.

The picture of emaciated Isabelle Caro, 27, an anorexic who weighs just 31 kilos (4 stone, 12lb), has been displayed on Milan billboards as the city celebrates its fashion week.

Caro, who is French and has her own blog site, said that she had suffered from anorexia since she was 13 as the result of a "difficult childhood".

She added: "I've hidden myself and covered myself for too long. Now I want to show myself fearlessly, even though I know my body arouses repugnance.

"I want to recover because I love life and the riches of the universe. I want to show young people how dangerous this illness is."

The campaign was paid for by Italian clothing company Flash & Partners to publicise a fashion brand for young women called Nolita and the photograph was taken by Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani.

Flash & Partners said in a statement that Toscani's aim was "to use the naked body to show everyone the reality of this illness, caused in most cases by the stereotypes imposed by the world of fashion".

Many people blame the fashion industry and the obsession with stick-thin size zero models for the rise in cases of anorexia.

Calls for action within the British fashion industry led to a full-scale investigation into the problems by a panel of experts this year.

The report by the Model Health Inquiry, which was published last week on the eve of London Fashion Week, made 14 recommendations including requiring models to pass medical checks before being allowed on the catwalk and barring appearances from those under 16.

Unveiling the report, chairman of the inquiry, Baroness Kingsmill, slammed the fashion world for allowing young girls to be exploited.

"Just because modelling is seen as glamorous, [the industry] seems to think it is outside normal health and safety issues," she said.

"It is time it started taking care of its workers."

But London has failed to go as far as Madrid and Milan, where the authorities have banned the appearance of ultra-skinny models on catwalks by forcing models to carry certificates proving they are healthy.

The move, which dominated Milan Fashion Week last year, followed the death of 22-year-old model Luisel Ramos, who collapsed at a show in Uruguay. It was claimed she had gone days without eating properly.

Speaking at the time, Tiziana Maiolo, Milan's city council official in charge of promoting fashion, said: "We will work together with modelling agencies, with the chamber of commerce for fashion and with doctors to ensure that the agencies and stylists do not favour this phenomenon of anorexia.

"I don't think men want to see skeletal women and I want to say to women who are fuller-figured there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. They are undoubtedly the prettiest women about and the most intelligent."

Despite this, fashion designers in Milan dismissed fashion as having anything to do with the illness.

Commenting on the poster Giorgio Armani said he thought such a shocking image was "opportune" as a way of making people face up to the dangers of anorexia, which he said had little to do with models on catwalks.

He added: "Anorexia has reasons which are not linked to fashion. Even people who take no notice of fashion get anorexic."

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said: "Finally someone is saying the truth about anorexia - that it has nothing to do with fashion but is a psychiatric problem.

"We have always maintained this despite all the political campaigns on the argument."

However, Italy's health minister Livia Turco backed the campaign and said: "The disturbing image of Isabelle Caro could open an original channel for communication and encourage people to shoulder their responsibilities in the area of anorexia."

I did fine this line from that article rather ignorant though.
Quote:
"I don't think men want to see skeletal women and I want to say to women who are fuller-figured there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. They are undoubtedly the prettiest women about and the most intelligent."

There is a women with a body type for every man out there, thick or thin. And your weight is hardly a measure of your intelligence.
 

Raerae

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmenchi
I like all those campaigns because they show the truth...

What truth is that exactly? I think everyone was already aware the anarexia is a sad disease when it gets to the extreme of the woman in the Ad. Just look at that documentry on those ana twins.

Quote:
what do we really need to see super skinny girls on yachts suntanning- that is total BS

Why is that a problem? There are plenty of ads that also feature fuller women. Not to mention plenty of fuller figured celebs all over TV now. Especially with the changeing demographics tilting towards the higher end of the scale. Clothing lines dont care if your fat or thin, they care about your money, thats it. If anything, that trend is only going to increase so they can make more money.

Quote:
and those campaigns reveal the darker sides of society and some aren't even dark just fact...

Darker side? It's just an illness, a sad one. But it's not a bad side of society, just a different part.

Quote:
maybe it's not the fashionista society who should adress those issues- but sadly they are the ones with most INFLUENCE, soooorry
winks.gif

I really think you overestimate the fashion industries influence on people's weight. Especially considering the population is getting larger, not thinner.
 

Shimmer

Well-known member
Of course, the fashion industry has no impact whatsoever on women's self esteem, and the beauty industry had no impact on your decision to have a nose job, right?
 

Raerae

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shimmer
Of course, the fashion industry has no impact whatsoever on women's self esteem

If your crying your eyes out because you dont look like a model in an ad in the latest issue of cosmo, you have more problems than just the fashion industry. And if you think it's just stick thin models in every ad, your only looking at the ad's you want too.

Quote:
and the beauty industry had no impact on your decision to have a nose job, right?

In my case, not particularly. Considering there are noses of EVERY shape on beautiful famous women. And of every shape on models who strut the runway (looks at the girls in thie season of Top Model, you can see every shape of nose there). It really, really didn't. So while it's cute of you to think that the beauty industry had any impact on my choice, it's a incorrect assumption.
 

aziajs

Well-known member
I think the ad is very thought provoking. It's a startling image and it will cause people to talk and hopefully help some people.
 

Shimmer

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raerae
If your crying your eyes out because you dont look like a model in an ad in the latest issue of cosmo, you have more problems than just the fashion industry. And if you think it's just stick thin models in every ad, your only looking at the ad's you want too.



In my case, not particularly. Considering there are noses of EVERY shape on beautiful famous women. And of every shape on models who strut the runway (looks at the girls in thie season of Top Model, you can see every shape of nose there). It really, really didn't. So while it's cute of you to think that the beauty industry had any impact on my choice, it's a incorrect assumption.


i'm quite sure it is.
 

Shimmer

Well-known member
Of course it's an incorrect assumption.

Today's standards of beauty and what is perceived as attractive had no weight, whatsoever, I'm sure. Of course. My mistake. My profuse apologies.
 

Raerae

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shimmer
Of course it's an incorrect assumption.

Today's standards of beauty and what is perceived as attractive had no weight, whatsoever, I'm sure. Of course. My mistake. My profuse apologies.


And what exactly is todays standard of beauty, with regards to the "ideal" female nose? I'd love to know, considering i see every shape and size on TV, Movies, and in magazines. Maybe I made the wrong choice!
 

lipstickandhate

Well-known member
I think its naive to believe that the fashion industry-- not just high fashion, but magazine spreads, drugstore print ads, etc-- has NO effect whatsoever on the average woman's self-esteem. I also don't believe, however, it can make the average mentally-stable, healthy woman nose-dive into a wild eating disorder. I also think its naive to believe all of these models are "naturally thin" and its hypocritical for the fashion industry to simultaeneously worship abnormal thin-ness but condemn annorexia.

I also find it really interesting how defensive women on this board who claim to be naturally thing are on this board. I'm really thin and tiny but I've never once felt attacked on here. I'm never going to be able to understand how women who struggle with weight feel. I personally don't encounter any of the prejudice or nasty comments about my (under)weight that my larger friends experience. Maybe this is b/c I live in a city that values thinness but I just don't experience the same social pressures they seem to. I also notice, my weight is not the average woman's experience with weight. I'm normal for me but I understand why others consider me outside of the norm. That doesn't offend me, its just the way it is.

More on topic, I really applaud that woman. What strength she has to put herself out there. I hope she gets the help she needs to recover.
 

lipstickandhate

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raerae
And what exactly is todays standard of beauty, with regards to the "ideal" female nose? I'd love to know, considering i see every shape and size on TV, Movies, and in magazines. Maybe I made the wrong choice!

Hmm, I think actually I can pinpoint the "ideal" female nose by defining what its not: its not big, its not bumpy, it doesn't have moles or freckles; its not asymetrical.

I think this statement is deliberately obtuse. No one is having nose jobs to look more unique- no one says to the surgeon, I'd really like you to make it flatter and more bulbous. Women don't want to be character actors, they want to be Angelina Jolie. They don't want anyone to notice their nose as different.
 
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