Fashion giants agree to ban size 0 models
PARIS — Two of the world’s biggest luxury goods conglomerates announced a joint charter Wednesday which they said aims to protect the health of fashion models by making those who are unhealthily thin ineligible to work.
The pact adopted by French corporations LVMH and Kering incorporates — and goes beyond — a new French law that requires all models to provide medical certificates proving they are healthy before they can work.
While the French law set to take effect Oct. 1 requires both male and female models to present a health certificate obtained within the previous two years, LVMH and Kering said their charter would shorten the time frame to six months.
The pact also bans the conglomerates’ labels from using female models below a French women’s size 34, which is typically equivalent to a U.S. size 0-2.
The fashion companies’ said their agreement would take effect this month.
Unlike the French law, the charter also will apply to the international Kering and LVMH brands with runway collections presented in Milan, London and New York. The two groups said they hoped to set a new global standard for the fashion industry.
“We hope to inspire the entire industry to follow suit, thus making a real difference in the working conditions of fashion models industry-wide,” Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement.
The two giants’ fashion houses include Dior, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, Saint Laurent, Gucci, Louis Vuitton,MarcJacobsandothers.