Some recognize the beginning of autumn with a change in the weather but Melbourne marks the season with a spectacle of glitz and glamour, instead of leaves on the pavement there’s a trail of glitter. With hundreds of shows, racks of clothes and a multitude of models the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival is one of the city’s biggest events but what’s beneath the designs is eating into public opinion.
Photo by paulStarPics- Flickr
The festival has come and gone for another year but as the circus roles out of town it can leave behind a trail of destruction in the minds of young women. With 15% of Australian women likely to experience an eating disorder at some point in their lifetime the sense that image is everything seems to be growing.
As a stylist Sienna Ludbey has seen first hand the glitz, glamour and chaos that had Melbourne’s most watched queuing for seat at this year’s festival, and with it the pressure to be thin.
“The emphasis these days is certainly on being skinny, the skinner you are the better you are,” she said.
A survey found 46% of women aged 15-25 feel a combination of the media, fashion industry and celebrities puts the most pressure on them to look a certain way, 13% think pressure to be thin comes from other women while 29% acknowledged they put the pressure on themselves.
Behind the scenes Sienna admits to feeling pressure to fit the mold but she says it doesn’t just come from fashion, it’s everywhere, “We’re all obsessed with image,” she said.
“You can’t watch TV without seeing 3 or 4 how to lose weight ads.”
And she wants women to keep it in perspective.
“Models are not real, it’s their job to look beautiful, to go to the gym 2 times a day, they have time for that and realistic women just don’t but that’s why you go to the shows to see these beautiful creatures walk down in the latest couture looking incredible.”
Model and health blogger Kaye Waterhouse is one of those beautiful creatures and after walking for many designers it was her focus on staying a perfect weight that fed a devotion to nutrition.
Blessed with a great metabolism like many models Kaye had never been asked to lose weight but certainly knew girls who had, and looking back what bothers her most was the ‘horrible’ junk foods fed to girls behind the scenes.
Kaye says today there is a greater focus on health in the fashion industry however society is focused on quick fixes and unsustainable eating habits learnt as teenagers are plaguing girls well into the future.
“The classic example is my sister who has just come out high school with these horrible habits she’s learnt from her peers,” she said.
Kaye’s interest in nutrition spurred on her modeling career and in many ways prolonged it but also gave her a new passion.
“Ultimately I’d like to go into education” she said.
“I’d love to go into high schools, girl’s schools and say everything you know now about food and nutrition is false.”
“I want to teach them how bad artificial sweeteners are, to not to be afraid of butter, lay good foundations so they can cook and be healthy as adults.”
With adolescent girls more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents or nuclear war Kaye’s plan to educate the next generation may be exactly what schools should be serving for lunch.
Want to know how other young people feel about body image? Watch the video with the cast of Clique a new teen drama about how being in the spotlight and body image pressure affects them.
The effects of body image on real girls in the real world- What influences your view of body image the most?
If you or someone you care about is struggling with body image, an eating disorder or depression you can call Lifeline anytime 13 11 14, or visit Beyond Blue or The Butterfly Foundation online. You may also like to view Kaye’s blog.
Get involved in the conversation and have your say in the comment section below, do you feel there’s pressure to look a certain way? What affects your view of body image the most? What can be done to help young people tackle body image issues?
