Fresh Faces: Is Modeling Child Exploitation?

One of my favorite reality TV moments was when mega-brat Renee was ousted from America’s Next Top Model Season 8 for looking “too mature.”  The elimination was absolutely ridiculous: Renee was all of 20 years old, and had actually filmed the most comprehensible Cover Girl commercial of the three remaining finalists (she was up against Jaslene and Natasha , neither of whom are particular known for their eloquence).  I didn’t mind, though, because this video sums her up:

ANTM has yet to churn out a haute couture model, but its judges still pretend that they’re abiding by the Laws of Fashion.  One of the Laws of Fashion that’s recently come into question is that of age.  The faces used to market high-end products are younger and younger, these days, illustrating the fashion world’s incessant (and dangerous) preoccupation with youth.

Last year, 13 year-old model Maddison Gabriel’s image graced newspapers around the world when she was chosen as the face of Gold Coast Fashion Week at the ripe old age of 12.  Even plastic-loving Janice Dickinson disapproved of the move, telling US reporters, “there’s lots of drugs, lots of alcohol,” in the fashion industry (NO!), making it an unfit environment for a young girl.   Protests grew louder as photos of Maddison in a skimpy bikini made their way onto the internet.


linked from gawker


The fact remains that the most successful models are those who break into the

industry during their pre-teens.  It’s a time of high-metabolism and a high-fashion-friendly awkwardness.  Models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell were both discovered at 14;  Lily Cole hit the scene at 15.  Even current “it-girl” Agyness Deyn succumbed to the fashion world’s obsession with age: her handlers gave a false birth date to the press that made her three years younger.
In a world supposedly sensitive to the sexual exploitation of children, is it right that marketers rely so heavily on the image of the prepubescent waif to sell their products?