Vogues the World Over Announce New Health Initiative
May 03, 2012 - by Lester Brathwaite
Voguetron assembles once again as Vogue's 19 international editors -- including the fab foursome of Anna Wintour, Alexandra Shulman, Emmanuelle Alt and Franca Sozzani -- have signed on to The Health Initiative. A pact to promote healthier and more positive body image, The Health Initiative will be featured globally in the June issues of Vogue.
The Initiative consists of the following six points:
1. We will not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder. We will work with models who, in our view, are healthy and help to promote a healthy body image.
2. We will ask agents not to knowingly send us underage girls and casting directors to check IDs when casting shoots, shows and campaigns.
3. We will help to structure mentoring programmes where more mature models are able to give advice and guidance to younger girls, and we will help to raise industry-wide awareness through education, as has been integral to the Council of Fashion Designers of America Health Initiative.
4. We will encourage producers to create healthy backstage working conditions, including healthy food options and a respect for privacy. We will encourage casting agents not to keep models unreasonably late.
5. We encourage designers to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing, which limits the range of women who can be photographed in their clothes, and encourages the use of extremely thin models.
6. We will be ambassadors for the message of healthy body image.
Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International, emphasized the importance of The Health Initiative, saying, "Vogue believes that good health is beautiful. Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the wellbeing of their readers." [Fashion Foie Gras]









