Real Women Hit The Runway

In France, a group of 50 politicians have proposed a new law that would require digitally enhanced photos of people carry a warning label. Though this issue has been approached in the past as a consumer protection issue in the UK, the French law would be the first to classify the digital enhancements as a health risk.

According to MP Valerie Boyer, the label should read, "Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person's physical appearance."

"We want to combat the stereotypical image that all women are young and slim," says Boyer. "These photos can lead people to believe in a reality that does not actually exist... In some cases this leads to anorexia or bulimia and very serious health problems."

Across the English Channel, 28-year-old Canadian designer Mark Fast was making the news at London Fashion Week. Fast put three UK size 12 to 14 models in his runway show, a decision that actually caused his stylist and casting director to quit.

Far from heavy, these models do resemble real women. Incredibly beautiful and genetically gifted women, of course, but more aligned with a healthy weight.

"There's this idea that only thin and slender women are able to wear Mark's dresses and he wanted to combat that," said Fast's managing director Amanda May. "We wanted women to know they don't have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress - curvier women can look even better in one."

While I applaud Fast's move at Fashion week, I doubt the French politicians will have much success passing their law, and don't I think it would be very effective if it did go on the books.

It comes down to a very simple fact - seeing is believing.

Social psychology experiments have shown that humans process and react almost simultaneously. We will see the picture and buy the perfection before we rationalize that, according to a small watermark, the image is not a perfect representation of reality. Besides, don't we already that what we see in a magazine is a perfected product? Whether it is computer enhancements, perfect makeup, an artful wardrobe or trick lighting, we know there is a scripted disconnect between the glossy pages and reality. Yet that knowledge has never made a difference in the past. Which is why I think warnings would be pretty much useless. Once we see the image, a good portion of the damage is done.

Following the same logic, I think a shift from coat hangers to real women on the runway represents a step forward. No matter how emaciated they look, we know the models really are that skinny, which reinforces the notion that the thin ideal is attainable if we work hard enough. By putting more curvaceous and healthy figures in the spotlight, the definition of beauty is expanded. What we see will actually match up to the healthier message we hear, that being pretty isn't about the size of your jeans. Not to mention the impact more realistic bodies have on the designers. They can actually create clothes for a variety of figures, not just the 2% of women who are as thin as modern models.

Now, if politicians want to propose a law that requires magazine editors and ad agencies to forgo Photoshopping people all together, publishing their pictures as they actually appear in real life, we might start getting somewhere.

Photo Credit: Mark Fast