France Close to Banning Boney Models
France's National Assembly has voted for a law that bans super skinny models from walking the ramp.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the bill prohibits anybody under a certain body mass index (BMI) from modeling. Employers hiring such models could face $ 82,000 penalty and six-month imprisonment. Similar laws exist in Spain and Italy. Such a law in France could have a big impact on the fashion world as the country attracts several models for a career in fashion owing to the presence of several prominent brands.
Proponents of bill claim that it will prevent models from anorexia as it is expected t change preferences among fashion houses and prevent them from portraying ultrathin models.
The cut-off BMI is yet to defined, but worldwide a BMI of anything between18.5 to 24.5 is considered healthy.
Though the bill is yet to become a law as France's senate has to vote, health experts have opined that it is a much needed law. However, the fashion industry is not sold.
"When you look at anorexia, you don't just look at the body mass, but there are other criteria such as their psychological state, loss of hair and dental problems. It's a little bit simplistic to think there will be no more anorexics if there are no more very thin models," Isabelle Saint-Félix, secretary general of the National Union of Modeling Agencies, reportedly said.
