I don’t know if it’s because I’ve gained some (20lbs) weight recently, but it really irks me when people throw around the “F” word (as in fat) at girls that are size 4 at the most. First Gemma Ward, and now Lara Stone? Lara’s story is in January’s Vogue, and gives us a rare glimpse into the not-so-pretty side of modeling.
Still, it’s not easy being a four in a land of zeros. We don’t tend to talk much about models’ inner lives. It seems enough that they are enviably thin, impossibly beautiful, and paid gobs of money to stand around in gorgeous clothes, but it can be hard on a young girl’s psyche to constantly hear how different you are. “It’s depressing when the clothes don’t fit and you are always the odd one out,” says Stone. Wearing black Azzedine Alaïa boots, a Balenciaga miniskirt, and a Chanel necklace, Stone looks every inch a supermodel at the peak of her career, but her size remains an issue. “I was on a shoot just last week,” she says. “And the stylist took out this tight corset dress and said, ‘Here, put it on,’ and I was like, ‘Who are you kidding?’ There was no way, so that was very rude of her. It’s like, come on, she’s a woman; whether you’re buying jeans at the mall or wearing couture, you know what it’s like for clothes not to fit. It’s not an easy kind of rejection, because it’s very personal. It’s you, your body. You take it to heart.”
Here’s hoping that more designers and stylists will take note of Lara Stone’s phenomenal success, and ensure that the girls that are walking down their runways and starring in their ads are not only beautiful, but also healthy. Though that might take a while.
Photo Credits: Louis Vuitton
