Kering Pledges to Stop Using Models Under 18

[whippie]

Fashion company Kering has announced that it will no longer use models who are under the age of 18.

The French luxury group owns several major fashion houses, including Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen.

The policy will come into effect in time for the 2020-2021 Autumn/Winter collections, Kering said.

Chief executive François Henri-Pinault said in a statement that the company was "conscious of the influence exerted on younger generations" by its images.

"We believe that we have a responsibility to put forward the best possible practices in the luxury sector, and we hope to create a movement that will encourage others to follow suit," he said.

Marie-Claire Daveu, Kering's chief sustainability officer, added: "The physiological and psychological maturity of models aged over 18 seems more appropriate to the rhythm and demands that are involved in this profession."

Sara Ziff, founder of the campaign group Model Alliance, told BBC News the announcement was "a positive step towards eliminating the intense pressure models currently face to maintain an adolescent physique and to go to extremes to lose weight".

But she added that it lacks a "mechanism for actual enforcement" - and that she fears the pledge could "amount to little more than lip service to critical issues that have plagued the industry for far too long".

Kering's decision comes as fashion brands are increasingly trying to become more ethical, both in their designs and in their working practices.

In August last year Condé Nast, which publishes Vogue magazine, announced that it would not use models under the age of 18 in editorial shoots, unless they were the subject of an article.

"This is partly the result of an internal reckoning," an editorial in Vogue said at the time. "Vogue, along with a number of other publications, has played a role in making it routine for children - since that's what they are - to be dressed and marketed as glamorous adults."

It continued: "No more: it's not right for us, it's not right for our readers, and it's not right for the young models competing to appear in these pages. While we can't rewrite the past, we can commit to a better future."

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) made a similar declaration last year. Its CEO Steven Kolb said: "Young models are still developing. There can be a lack of the confidence, strength, experience, and maturity it takes to deal with the pressures of this work."

BBC

 

[Lola701]

Ok, good announcement but yet, it's all smoke and mirrors.
As long as size 34 rule and casting directors have the power they have now, this doesn't matter.
As much as i love Anja Rubik, she is always going to be super skinny and she is above 18. It still send the wrong message: you have to be super skinny to be model.

It would be great if the idea of a healthy model was more than a marketing trick with people saying how much they eat organic food or are vegan. The idea of a healthy model needs to go back to "a look". Models from the early 00's were totally about that.

Raquel Zimmerman is still stunning and looks healthy without talking about her regimen.

 

[Benn98]

I hope they weren't expecting a medal for making this 'brave' announcement. Because it's something they should've enforced ages ago. Underage models.
Just do it! Stop shouting it from the rooftop.

 

[whippie]

How well has Conde Nast stuck to their pledge to not use models under 18 in editorials does anyone know?

 

[Marc10]

Ok, good announcement but yet, it's all smoke and mirrors.
As long as size 34 rule and casting directors have the power they have now, this doesn't matter.
As much as i love Anja Rubik, she is always going to be super skinny and she is above 18. It still send the wrong message: you have to be super skinny to be model.

It would be great if the idea of a healthy model was more than a marketing trick with people saying how much they eat organic food or are vegan. The idea of a healthy model needs to go back to "a look". Models from the early 00's were totally about that.

Raquel Zimmerman is still stunning and looks healthy without talking about her regimen.

But I don't think this is about size or the look of model - that is a seperate yet also important issue, but more of a change in the system of putting these teenagers in situations that are simply too demanding and potentially dangerous for them. It should've always been the norm in the industry. There's no reason for a 16yo to be put in a vulnerable situation like wearing a riske outfit with their breasts exposed, having to be nearly nude backstage in front of all those people... not to mention all the psychological burden that modeling brings on these girls. And they're usually the ones who fall prey of these abusers that have ran freely in the industry for so long. Modeling should've always been a 18+ job, maybe even 21+.

It's no heroic step forward, but a step foward nonetheless. Waiting for LVMH and others to join in.

But on a side note, I think more so than brands and companies, the modeling agencies need to start taking some accountability and make fast changes too. Stop scouting these girls at 14/15 yo. Stop sending them to jobs when they don't even know how to pose properly or even walk in high heels. Let them develop as professionals, and most importantly, as women first. So many changes are long overdue...

 

[Benn98]

How well has Conde Nast stuck to their pledge to not use models under 18 in editorials does anyone know?

Other than very few transgressions from Italian and Japanese Vogue, pretty well. Then there's this, which allows editors to manipulate the system by giving Kaia Gerber covers and edits:

'All models must be at least 18 years old. Exceptions will be made for subjects appearing as themselves as part of a profile or news report.'

 

[Sensation]

Famed French fashion company LVMH said Friday it won't change its minimum age requirement for models in the wake of a rival vowing to not hire anyone for the catwalk who isn't at least 18.

LVMH — which produces luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Fendi, Christian Dior, Berluti, Givenchy and many others — said age requirements are artificial lines that are not as important as the overall treatment of models.

LVMH said it hires a relatively small number of 16- and 17-year-old models, typically less than 20 percent of those it hires for its exhibits.

"Young models aged 16 to 18 remain largely in the minority in the LVMH Group's fashion shows," according to a company statement issued on Friday. "What matters is not so much the age as the conditions under which models work, regardless of age."

NBC

 

[Benn98]

Ignorance is bliss at LVMH. Truly shocked and mildly disgusted at their attitude.