It’s fashion week in Milan and to celebrate, fashion brand No-l-ita has unveiled its latest advertising campaign with billboards around the city. Presumably, it’s less about selling clothes than raising awareness about anorexia. The image is of Isabelle Caro, a 27 year old 31kg anorexic who has her own blog site. She says she’s suffered from anorexia since she was 13 due to "a difficult childhood".
She adds: "I’ve hidden myself
and covered myself for too long.
Now I want to show myself
fearlessly, even though I know my
body arouses repugnance.
"I want to recover because I
love life and the riches of the
universe. I want to show young
people how dangerous this
illness is."
The fashion company said in a statement
that photographer Olivier Toscani’s aim was "to
use the naked body to show
everyone the reality of this
illness, caused in most cases by
the stereotypes imposed by the
world of fashion".
Cynical shock tactics? Or a welcome dose of reality for an industry who refuses to acknowledge that it has a problem among models. Let alone take responsibility for the effect its impossible imagery has on the rest of us.
I still don’t believe skinny models cause eating disorders but should they be held up as the single image of beauty in our society? No. Way.
Top Comments
Wow, good on you Isabelle Caro! what an amazingly brave thing for you to do. The reality of anorexia is scary and heartbreaking! Good luck with your recovery xxx
OK so the media may not be the single cause of anorexia but they certainly don't help either!