Can someone help me to find articel on "threats and opportunities in fashion industry"?

Answer 1

Doctor's fault Designers for Thin Models

The response of American fashion designers to the problem of dangerously thin models on the runway is to propose educational reform and better working conditions. The response of eating disorder professionals is to suggest that those models should not be on the runways at all.

The Academy for Eating Disorders, an international doctors’ organization based in Northbrook, Ill., planned to release a series of recommendations today that contrast sharply with the proposals discussed on Friday by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in a meeting led by the designer Diane Von Furstenberg.

While designers have resisted age and weight requirements, the doctors’ group insists that they are necessary.

Dr. Eric van Furth, the clinical director of the Center for Eating Disorders Ursula in Leidschendam, the Netherlands, and the president of the Academy for Eating Disorders, criticized the designers yesterday because they did not solicit medical opinion beyond that of a panel assembled by the editors of Vogue magazine. Dr. van Furth said he was concerned about the industry’s ability to monitor itself.

“We believe the fashion industry should take responsibility for the health of its models,” Dr. van Furth said. “The way they are presenting their guidelines really shows they are not acknowledging the seriousness of the problem of eating disorders at all.”

The executive director of the fashion council, Steven Kolb, responded yesterday by noting that its committee included three prominent health experts: Joy Bauer, a nutritionist; David Kirsch, a fitness trainer; and Dr. Susan Ice, a psychiatrist at the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia, which treats eating disorders.

“It is not as if what we are discussing is being developed without the advice of people who are experts in that area,” Mr. Kolb said, adding that the designers will continue to invite input from other nutritionists and eating disorder professionals.

According to the academy’s guidelines, models should be at least 16 years old and have a body mass index — based on a formula of height and weight and known as B.M.I. — greater than 17.4 for female models under 18 years old, or 18.5 for models over 18 years old. For a 5-foot-9 model over 18, that would mean the weight requirement would be 126 pounds.

The B.M.I. scale has been largely dismissed by designers and modeling agents since it was introduced in September as part of a government-supported ban on thin models in Madrid. Ms. Von Furstenberg and other designers have argued that the regulations are too restrictive and could not be enforced on a global scale.

Standards of beauty change often, and some designers believe that the current emphasis on extremely thin models will eventually shift toward a more womanly figure, like that of the supermodels of the early 1990s.

Johnson Hartig, a partner in the Los Angeles designer label Libertine, said that designers should not be blamed for the existence of eating disorders among models or the prevailing obsession with thinness in popular culture.

“It’s not just the models, but actresses and celebrities across the board who are thin,” Mr. Hartig said. “It’s the state of our country, I think, and the treatment needs to start at home. If one has an emotionally stable background, it’s not an issue.”

Francisco Costa, the women’s creative director for Calvin Klein, said his company supported the council’s broader initiative to provide guidelines and instructional information, “to help everyone better understand the issues and work towards a healthier working environment for models.”

After the deaths of two models in South America last year, the industry has been pressured to explain its rationale for presenting recent collections on extremely thin models. Anorexia nervosa affects 0.3 to 1 percent of young women, according to the Academy for Eating Disorders, which cites research that suggests it is a disease affected by both genetics and environment.

Fashion companies have a poor record of moderating unwholesome lifestyles. Drug and alcohol abuse is common among models.

After accusations in September 2004 that the model Kate Moss (who began her career at 14) used drugs, major fashion companies dropped her from advertisements in outrage; six months later, she had renewed those contracts and signed others.

“You hear about the high-profile cases, but you have to think, beyond that, what may be going on at all levels of modeling,” said Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik, a professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina and a past president of the Academy for Eating Disorders. “I think it has both specific effects on those who are vulnerable to eating disorders and more general effects on the female population.”

Dr. Bulik criticized the fashion council for making its own guidelines. Other eating disorder experts said they were disappointed at the industry’s response.

“I am surprised every time that people say overly thin models do not cause eating disorders,” said Lynn Grefe, the chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Association, a referral and prevention group based in Seattle.

“Their response looks like a P.R. cover on a real problem,” Ms. Grefe said. “It is like saying tobacco advertising does not cause lung cancer.”

Answer 2

women: - Lydia - Annabel (Yeah, ok, possibly it would not sound darkish at first yet I talked with reference to the call Edgar and thoughtt of Poe's poem "Annabel Lee", it really is a depressing albeit eye-catching poem) - Lenore ( yet another one from Poe's poem, "The Raven") - Jezebel (After the evil queen interior the Bible) - Eva Boys: - Jack - Hugo - Jasper - Bram - Victor i am hoping I helped quite, solid success mutually with your tale. :)