I love fashion and the way it creates different forms of aestheticism. I always like figuring out how to shape my body according to models. The trouble is that our society uses the wrong definition of model.
What I mean by a model is a design, a pattern of some sort. It shouldn't be confused with models who pause as mannequins. Designers want women and men who are skinny, almost androgynous so that the audience will look at the clothing and not the person wearing it. Therefore, they want us to see how to created new ways of shaping your body with, for example, puffy sleeves on a shirt and not necessarily by imitating the shapes of the top model's body.
People have a misconception of what beauty is too. Nowadays, we notice the norm of what's beautiful is different than it was a few centuries back and we automatically say that that norm was better then. Saying that it was "better then" is unfair. It is unfair not only to women who don't fit the norm but also to the ones who do.
In the 21st century, we think it's politically incorrect to bash a curvy woman because we know her body type is outside of the norm, whereas when you see a naturally skinny girl we assume she's anorexic or has some other kind of eating disorder. Some might even say she looks gross, but that's not fair to her. I'm not saying curvy woman aren't criticized by society. On the contrary they are but people will "feel bad" for saying that a person is presumably "fat". To get back to my point, we don't realize that skinnier woman are also put down sometimes and we don't think it's a problem because they are part of the fashion norm.
A girl who looks like a runway model but who isn't one might feel like she has to gain weight to look like she is "healthy" whereas a heavier weighing person will want to loose weight because they wish they were a runway model. It just depends on the point of view.
Fashion designers would like a good model to not be noticed underneath the clothing because people aren't paying to see pretty faces and bodies in a show, they are there for the outfits.
So, if they are supposed to be unnoticeable why are girls trying to look like them anyways? That is a mystery to me. It just saddens me to know that the fashion industry which is supposed to exhibit clothing is also exhibiting a new norm of body structures that are not always healthy. Because of it, lots of girls suffer of low self esteem and eating disorders.
I see a lot of people around me suffering around me because of their image. To be honest, I'm suffering a lot too. It's sad to see how teenagers are easily insecure.
I watched a short film by Rodrigo Prieto called
Likeness showing how the fashion industry made top models and teenagers develop eating disorders. It is shocking but beautifully made. It's worth watching.
(By the way, this post is entirely my opinion. You don't have to agree with me.)
In order: Adele, Christina Aguilera, Elle Fanning, Emma Watson, Keira Knightley, Lana Del Rey, Tyra Banks, Coco Rocha (Unknown Sources)
