Adele – the latest woman to be on the receiving end of the worst kind of fashion elitism, took no truck from Karl Lagerfeld recently, when he publicly sized her up, as I’m sure you all know. I was glad to read her defiant and considered response on behalf of all women.
Her body is fairly representative of an average female body in the western world and Lagerfeld revealed a stupidity and lack of understanding about ordinary bodies and ordinary women’s feelings, that sums up fashion for so many of us. Unthinking promotion of relentless unachievable beauty ideals and public admonishment for those who do not fit them…sadly that’s about right!
I didn’t have to get cross as so many were already rallying. The response was immediate…”Are you freaking kidding me,” wrote one…let’s boycott Chanel.
And you know… consumers have the power. The perfume, the make-up, the glasses…these are the things that make any fashion house money. Karl Largefeld was very vocal about John Galliano’s anti-Semitic comments, saying they made him angry, but in neglecting to see his own size 11 foot wedged firmly in his mouth, he fares no better.
There is growing intolerance with fashion industry body and beauty ideals that are unkind and my All Walks Campaign and Jane’s work for Channel 4′s How to Look Good Naked are just two of the many projects out there, that have at their heart a more loving message for women.
Important for us all to remember that this issue is not just about bodies, its about power and with 82% of the household spend, women have more power than they think to chose companies that show healthy, realistic images of women.
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1 Caryn Franklin: Body Image and the UN | Country Talk Forum // Mar 3, 2012 at 4:03 am
[...] allowing himself to publicly berate Adele for her weight, Karl Lagerfeld was true to type. There can only be one ideal it seems. The simple [...]
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