Vogue Italia goes plus-size

The June issue of Vogue Italia features three models the fashion industry would deem "plus-size". (That's "average-size" to you and me.) The three beauties are Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine, and Robyn Lawley, captured in black and white by the same man who has shot every Vogue Italia cover since 1988 -- Steven Meisel.

Et voilà:

The cover is part of editor Franca Sozzani's ongoing campaign against pro-anorexia websites. (You can sign her online petition here if you're so inclined.)

While I certainly applaude Franca's efforts, especially when the industry in which she works is often associated with promoting a thinner figure, I can't help but wonder if it will have any real impact. Certainly, she's very well respected, but is putting three "normal" women on the cover of a magazine really going to stop anyone from starving themselves? Yes, the models look fantastic, but the sad fact of the matter is that people suffering from eating disorders don't strive to look like that, just as most women don't strive to be the stick-thin size zeros gracing the covers of every other magazine on the stands.

It also doesn't help that models such as these are constantly referred to as "curvy", "fuller-figured" or "plus-size". Using these extraneous words is, in my opinion, a way of marking them out. Why can't they just be "models"? We don't refer to size-zeros as "minus-size", though they're clearly a lot thinner than the average woman.

I'm reminded of a recent campaign that Debenham's ran in Ireland, in which they changed all the mannequins in their windows to "plus-size" mannequins. The move was lauded nationally as an heroic attempt to celebrate the female figure but I, perhaps being overly cynical, viewed it as merely a publicity ploy. If Debenhams were so concerned with representing real women, why not have mannequins of different sizes in their stores? We're not all "plus-size" either, you know.

The size-zero debate is one that rages on and, while I admire and respect Franca's efforts, I'm more inclined to Gok Wan's way of doing things. He's currently lobbying the English parliament to have the subject of body confidence added to the school curriculum. People need to be educated, not force-fed images of what someone else deems beautiful. Kids need to be taught -- not just in school but at home too -- to be healthy and happy in their own skin. We're too caught up in SIZE, when we need to be caught up in HEALTH.

So while it's great that the cover and the campaign are getting so much publicity, I still don't think they will change the world. But if you're down to your last few quid, you should definitely spend it on Vogue rather than a Big Mac.