The secret that’s out is that there are no curves, only hard angles on Victoria's Secret’s “Skinny Minnie” models. The Victoria’s Secret fashion show is a cultural event that people in and outside of the fashion industry look forward to. Although I don't stop my life to watch it, if it's on when I'm watching TV, I do because I know the next day, African American radio personalities will have something to say about it. And they usually complain that the models are too thin. Some say it's because they are used to more curvy women than those paraded on the Victoria Secret runway.
When Victoria Secret had Tyra Banks who although has model proportions, is still a nice realistic size in their line up, she balanced out the ridiculousness of the thinness of the other models. Now with Tyra gone, it’s a bunch of "Skinny Minnie" models parading bones with flesh over it. These models in no way represent the actual people that buy Victoria Secret products. I can understand their skinny line up of models if Victoria’s Secret products are high fashion that are exclusively priced for the very rich, but they are not. Their products are available to the masses that in America are on the average a size 12.
However, instead of them using nicely shaped models in the range of sizes of people who actually buy their products, they choose to follow high fashion standards by parading stick thin models that don’t represent their target demographic in any way shape or form. Tyra Banks’ mother once stated that she was told by Victoria’s Secret’s head officials that seeing Tyra represent Victoria Secret on their runway and in their advertising campaigns made so many women buy Victoria Secret products.
She echoed what for me was true and many other women. We felt we could relate to Tyra's size. I remember getting Victoria’s Secret catalogs years ago, when I was notably overweight and trying to lose weight. As prescribed by one of the weight loss books I was reading at the time, I saw Tyra's pictures in the Victoria’s Secret catalogs I received. Believing her size and shape were attainable for me, I cut out several pictures of her and pasted them on my refrigerator, full length mirror and by my exercise equipment. The weight loss book stated that putting your ideal image on your refrigerator would stop you from opening it to take food to eat when you’re not hungry. Putting it on a full length mirror will help you compare yourself to the desired/attainable image on a regular basis as you look in your mirror and putting the picture next to your exercise equipment will encourage you to exercise, and I must say that it did work for me.
From what I understand, the thought behind fashion designers using skinny tall models is using less fabric and having less of the person, so that the product being displayed, which is the outfit isn’t overshadowed by the model’s size and curves. This is understandable and no one is saying they should use plus size models, but they can use interesting looking nicely shaped and firm models from size 0 through 16 that will look good in their specific products that flatter the individual model’s shape.
I know most times, men are the decision makers in these companies, which is the reason things are done the way they are. However, they should know that the use of these skinny models is not only bad for the spectators of runway shows, it also puts pressure on established and up and coming models to stay stick thin by starving themselves and becoming anorexic or bulimic. Female spectators who are bigger than these skinny models feel bad about the "unrealistic skinny size model ideal image" constantly paraded before them that they can’t become, so in the long run, psychologically no one wins.
I am appealing to Victoria’s Secret and other fashion designers to use a mix of small, medium and large models in their advertising campaigns and runway lineup to represent the actual demographic they serve.
A word is enough for the wise………..but I know you'd like to see pictures from the show, so here you go, but let's be real, I know runway shows sell fantasy, but how many real women look like this?
Photos by Huffington Post, Daily Front Row & Zimbio
