Fashion week: the skinny on the models

Since last year, models have been under scrutiny for being skinny. Madrid instituted a minimum BMI of 18, and more recently, the death of anorexic Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston (who died weighing 88 pounds at 5'7") has had people talking about size, health and body image.

Well... make that people outside of the fashion industry. During the shows, I've been eavesdropping, trying to find out whether people are talking about size. They aren't. It's not because these people don't know about the weight controversy, it's that they think it's ridiculous--and they know that unless the designers and influential editors want to see more curves on models, it just ain't gonna happen. Even instituting a minimum BMI requirement won't work; some designers will just start showing their work in other fashion centers that don't have such rules. And here is what nobody really wants to say out loud, even though they're all thinking it: they don't want fashion to include regular, everyday people.

So are the Fashion Week models too skinny? Don't hate me for saying this, but: No. Okay, the women (girls? Some are only 15!) are quite slim, but of the dozens I've seen so far, only four have made me think, "Whoa there, Skeletor." Those women did not look good, especially compared to the other models who looked healthier. So while the models are thin, they're not freakyskinny. I know some of you may want me to rail against these girls or the industry in general, but honestly, the models don't look sick.

But here's what they do look: white! Whiteywhiteywhite! Show after show, I've been wondering whether the unofficial slogan of Fashion Week is Low Melanin Only, Please. Twinkle, Tracy Reese and Alexandre Herchcovitch had diverse castings. But by and large, the models are mostly white, occasionally Asian and very very very rarely Latina. Join me as I play the Count the Black Models game:

Alice Roi: no black models
Jill Stuart: no black models
Rag & Bone: no black models
Marc Jacobs: one black model
Jovovich-Hawk: one black model
Reyes: one black model
United Bamboo: one black model
Erin Fetherston: one black model
Diane von Furstenberg: three black models
3.1 Phillip Lim: four black models
Tracy Reese: four black models

Anybody else wish this game weren't such a bummer?