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go away, ye bag-o-bones!
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i laughed out loud while reading the latest news about skinny models being booted off the runways. how ludicrous can that be ?

as someone who is currently spending almost 24/7 working her ass off on fashion styling ( and running around like a dog ) , i believe i possess a little new-found authority to comment on this new set of rules that has taken effect on madrid and milan fashion shows.

so they are banning models with a BMI below 18. firstly my BMI is a shocking 14.5 but i'm as healthy as someone who is supposedly "healthier" with a normal BMI. working with models who are even skinnier than me has made me realised one thing- that most of them have appetites like a horse. everyone has a different metabolism and combined with genetic inheritance and natural body shape, of course the difference varies greatly from the obese to the malnutritioned looking ones like me. almost all the models i've worked with have partaken heartily in the unhealthy chow that the fashion team and the photographers dig. what anorexia ?! we're just naturally skinny ! ( its a plea, not a statement btw )

models are hired by designers and stylists to bring out the best in their designs. its the same concept as two slabs of sizzling prime-cut tenderloin. tenderloin A is looking pretty on a kate spate dinner plate with juicy baby carrots and a mound of mashed potato. tenderloin B is sitting unappetisingly on a hawker-centre style melanine plate. both tenderloins are sold at the same price. now which one would you choose?

people argue very few "real" women will ever fit into the clothes from the runway. firstly, what defines a real woman? someone with voluptuous curves or someone rail thin with non-existent boobies? let's say i design a gorgeous satin dress and it fits my model with a BMI of 13 fabulously. satin is a clingy material and it can either accentuate your figure or highlight the flaws. as a designer i definitely will not want someone full-figured like jessica simpson to showcase my dress, because the fabric will only cling hopelessly to her chunky thighs and people will be kept busy looking at the uglyness instead of the dress.

and one thing i wanna point out - clothes are seldom sold fresh from the catwalk. what will probably happen is that manufacturers from around the world will notice the trend and then re-create the look for the masses, from a size 0 to size 18.

models are skinny for another reason. models are walking clothes hangers. they are skinny for the same reason as the jessica simpson example. too curvy, and people will be kept busy with your curves instead of concentrating on the dress. face it : no pretty mini dress will look good on thunder thighs.

why is there a sudden spotlight on anorexic girls? why don't they focus instead on more worrying issues like soaring suicide rates caused by stress? if so, should they start banning exams as well?

i cannot believe that the minimum BMI is fucking 18 for a FASHION SHOW. i have nothing against the bigger sized people but 18 is really the BMI for fleshier people. for someone my height ( 1.65 m ) to have a BMI of 18, she would have to tip the scales at 50kg !! and at 50 kg, i'll definitely be blessed with butterfly arms and cellulite ridden butt cheeks unless i'm an athlete. no sane designer wants his chiffon tube dress with two flappers sticking out.

why don't people realise that everyone strives to look good? i think that's a good thing. i'm all for trying your best to look good, though not by unhealthy means of course.

i think its a big blow to the industry. its really too drastic a measure and instead of solving the problem, they're just sweeping it under the carpet by banning shit. ban every fucking lah, ban money also since it makes people rob and kill for it. ban love also lah, since it causes heartbreak. ban, ban every fucking thing !!

i'm glad that for now, the girls at castings at CLEO are still leggy women with shocking BMIs and a flat stomach. maybe one day the waif look will be taken over completely by the i-am-woman-hear-me-roar-while-my-CUP-D-breasts-shudder look and will the health advocates start singing to another tune then when girls start undergoing breast enhancements and whatnots to emulate the runway models?

p/s : if you're offended because you're big-boned, then i'm sorry but you're welcome to come over and tweak the nipples on my non existent breasts.