After setting up a 'healthy model' task force in January this year, the British Fashion Council (BFC) today announced they will hold a three-month inquiry to examine the size zero issue. The Council along with other members of the fashion industry including model management, designers and supermodels will initiate a Model Health Inquiry to investigate the health of models at London Fashion Week. The inquiry will look at measures taken by other fashion capitals, in particular Milan, Paris, New York and Madrid to counteract the ongoing issue.
Baroness Kingsmill, former Competition Commission deputy chairman, has been assigned to lead the inquiry panel which includes Sarah Doukas founder of Storm Model Management, model Erin O'Connor and designers Betty Jackson and Giles Deacon.
The initial stage will involve information-gathering where the panel will review material submitted by industry members and the general public concerning the health of models. Those who wish to make a confidential submission can do so via the website - Modelhealthinquiry.com
From this investigation the BFC aims to establish a series of guidelines for employers of catwalk models to follow in order to help them combat "any material size-related health concerns" said a inquiry spokesman. [source]
It's fantastic to see something pro-active finally being done to confront and potentially overcome these issues. Hopefully this is the beginning of some much-needed changes which the fashion industry have continued to ignore for way too long.
