Res. No. 692

Resolution calling upon sponsors of New York Fashion Week to adopt a healthy models awareness education campaign and to ban models with a body mass index of lower than 18.5 from walking the Fashion Week runways.

By Council Members Brewer, Gennaro, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Mealy, Mendez, Palma, Sanders Jr., Sears and Gerson

Whereas, Fashion shows are used by designers to show off their latest collections to the media and the public; and

Whereas; According to recent news reports, a significant number of fashion show models are unhealthily thin, with some suffering from eating disorders; and

Whereas, Mental health experts believe that seeing unhealthily thin models can play a role in causing an eating disorder among young women, and body-image experts contend that the promotion of the thin, sexy ideal in society can lead girls to be dissatisfied with their bodies and to participate in very unhealthy behaviors to try to control their weight; and

Whereas, Members of the international fashion industry, alarmed and concerned about the health of models and the young women who look up to them, have suggested that only healthy models participate in its fashion shows; and

Whereas, Spain’s top fashion show has turned away many models from participating in its shows on grounds that they are too skinny, requiring such models to meet the body mass index (“BMI”), which is calculated by dividing weight in pounds by height in inches squared and multiplying that total by 703.

Whereas, If a person’s BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, the person’s weight is considered normal, and if a person’s BMI is below 18.5, the person is considered underweight; and

Whereas, Furthermore, Italy’s fashion industry and the Italian government have entered into a voluntary code of conduct which aims to keep unhealthy models from participating in fashion shows; and

Whereas, According to the agreement, models must provide a medical certificate proving they do not suffer from eating disorders; and

Whereas, The agreement also bans the use of models under age 16 and urges the use of larger-sized models; and

 Whereas, The Council of Fashion Designers of America (“CFDA”), a not-for-profit trade association of 273 of America’s foremost fashion and accessory designers, recently formed a health initiative to address the problem of unhealthy models; and

Whereas, CFDA’s health initiative has proposed a number of non-binding healthy guidelines for its members, which include: educating the industry on identifying models at risk of developing an eating disorder, requiring models who have such a disorder to seek counseling and promoting a healthy work environment for models; and

Whereas, New York City is one of the biggest fashion centers of the world, hosting two major fashion shows each year featuring many of the world’s top designers; and

Whereas, Sponsors of New York Fashion Week have not addressed the issue of unhealthy models participating in its fashion shows; and

Whereas, It is imperative that the models who participate in New York Fashion Week reflect a healthy physical image that conforms with the reality of modern society and embraces all body types; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon sponsors of New York Fashion Week to adopt a healthy models awareness education campaign and to ban models with a body mass index of lower than 18.5 from walking the Fashion Week runways.

LS 2455

1/26/2007 12:30 PM

BH