Thought this was an interesting read to pass along.
Now the male models are losing weight to achieve the new boy body ideal: skinny, pale, feminine. Peter Munro reports.
David Sciola was too big for Paris. Weighing just 76 kilograms with a 32-inch waist (81cm), the 188cm-tall model tipped the scales in the French fashion capital.
Working abroad last year, he lost 6kg to strut the catwalks of Milan, but even that was not skinny enough for the Parisian scene – where lean is the new mean.
“In Milan, I trimmed down to about 76kg so I would fit the clothes. I am 6’2″, so for me I would say that’s underweight,” he says. “Paris tends to be even skinnier than Milan. You’ve got designers like Dior who always go for anaemic, 17-year-old bodies.
“In Milan, I was staying with a guy who modelled for Dior. He was really skinny: he looked like he was going to die. He had been put on the front page of Le Monde for an article about skinny models and male eating disorders. But he assured me it was all totally natural.”
As Sciola’s size has diminished, so his catwalk stocks have climbed. The 23-year-old model and University of Melbourne media student says that three years ago he looked like a “meat head”, weighing a relatively beefy 94kg with a 33-inch waist (83cm) and 42-inch chest (106cm) bulging from weight training.
“I went into Cameron’s Models and they said you’ve got a good look, but you’ve got to lose weight,” he says.
“I thought they’d probably like that big-body look and I would get a lot of work, but gradually I found out they don’t go for buff guys.”
Sciola has shed up to 18kg over three years, dropping weight training and starting to jog. He eventually downsized to an 81cm waist and 99cm chest. For him to make the cut for high-end fashion labels such as Armani in Europe, it was like a heavyweight professional boxer stripping down three divisions. But, in modelling, slight men punch well above their weight.
“I have never really been told I’ve been too big, but you work it out for yourself if you are going to castings and you are not fitting the clothes,” says Sciola, now back to his Australian weight of 82kg. “I don’t even go to Prada castings because I know I’m not going to get the work.”
While critical eyes have been fixed on skeletal female models – with jutting ribs and collar bones, pencil-thin pegs and wan complexions – their male counterparts have been quietly wasting away.
As recently as 2000, it was fashionable for guys to come packaged with sizeable pecs, biceps and a six-pack. Now, they are shrinking before our eyes.
The new look can be called willowy or wasted, depending on your take. And it is spreading here, where labels such as Zambesi and Claude Maus, and fashion editorial magazines such as Russh and Yen have a preference for raw-boned men.
And it’s going mainstream. Scrawn is the new brawn. And lean guys with chicken-chests and scrawny legs are starting to overshadow the beefcake boys.
Cameron’s Models co-director Melinda Collette says skinny, geeky guys are now the poster boys for fashion’s leading style makers, particularly from abroad. “We’ve had guys who are healthy, strapping lads who, if they want to go to Europe or America, have to stop going to the gym and start running to lose weight,” she says.
“The 6’3″ (190cm) buff model doesn’t exist any more. I have one model here who is six foot with a 36-inch chest and a 32-inch waist, and next to him is one with a 34-inch chest and 31-inch waist. They’re a lot leaner in the chest and shoulders than perhaps they should be. Formerly, these two guys would have been told to go off to the gym and get a chest, but now we are not so stringent about that.”
Chadwick Models’ Matt Anderson says he has taken on more lean young men to reflect the shift to scrawny in the male modelling world over the past decade.
“Now skinny guys are seen as being more attractive, which is good for me because I’m a naturally skinny guy with a 30-inch (76cm) waist and 40-inch chest,” he says.
“We signed on a guy last week who is 16, tall, skinny, almost androgynous. He grew up in Broadmeadows and is the type of guy who would have been picked on his whole life as being quite scrawny and almost effeminate-looking.
“Now he will feel good about himself for the first time ever. Finally, he will feel, ‘You’re not a freak’.”
Melbourne’s market – mostly catalogueues and ad shoots – still suits an athletic build, but designers and retailers are increasingly on the hunt for a hungry, underfed look.
Anderson argues this trend has taken the pressure off male models, who can now happily “stay their runty selves” rather than have to work at getting buff – a pitch that is hotly contested by body-image specialists.
“The types of guys being used now are way more reflective of the general population. Whereas 10 years ago, it was Adonis types with ripped (prominent) muscles and six packs,” he says.
Boki Milinkovic, 19, was street-cast for a fashion show for indie label Material Boy when he was in year 12 at school.
Since then, this 66kg uni student (6.3 feet, or 190cm tall) has worked his skinny butt off for other alternative labels such as Alpha60 and Mjolk, which has a following among frail but well-groomed bands including Franz Ferdinand and Scissor Sisters, as well as the scraggy rockers from Jet.
“I never had sand kicked in my face, but most of the scene is now based on kids that were picked on and who were not really that attractive in the media sense,” Milinkovic says. “I’m pretty skinny, man, but I’m healthy skinny because I’ve been athletic my whole life.
“The whole rock’n’roll scene has been trendy for a while: the slim, nerdy guy is looking all cool now,” he says.
It is like Revenge of the Nerds on the catwalk. Material Boy’s Mic Eaton, a former surfer who has focused on designing since blowing out his knee on a wave, says modelling agencies such as Priscilla’s in Sydney are starting to cater more for his label’s long, lanky look.
His sample size is a 76cm waist and 86cm chest, which he says suits a younger generation of men more concerned about style than sport.
But if you are still to be convinced that scrawn is the new brawn, try this on for size. Eaton says the lean look is becoming so popular that it might be time for hip labels such as his own to actually upsize.
“I think I will be using fuller models for next season. I try to work against the trend,” he says. “Last season, for winter, I did a silhouette change by using wider T-shirts and wider, pleated pants to give a shorter, stumpier silhouette – and it worked quite well.”
Wrangler last year brought out a Stranglers fit for especially lean guys after discovering many of its male clients were buying women’s skinny stovepipe jeans. Its menswear designer Andy Paltos says the lean look has filtered down from young rockers and European catwalks.
When Paltos was modelling in Melbourne a decade ago, his 81cm waist was considered pretty small. Now, when Wrangler fit out touring groups such as Kings of Leon, they work to 71cm fits.
“I think the whole rock’n’roll look, going back to the Stones, is timeless, but I think there’s a line where you can be too skinny and look ill and wrong,” Paltos says.
“You can be slim and wear skinny, super-tight jeans and still have a bit of meat on your bones. But I’ve seen guys locally wearing skinny jeans who are so skinny it’s too much. There’s nothing on them: it’s just bones.”
Men’s body-image specialist Marita McCabe, a professor of psychology at Deakin University, says the fashionably emaciated look is putting pressure on boys and men to meet an unrealistic ideal.
“If you are trying to attain a healthy body build, that is OK, but these bodies are so lean and so toned and that is what they see as being normal,” she says. “What you are getting is men starting to engage in unhealthy eating and exercising practices to try to achieve those ideals.”
Collette at Cameron’s Models says guys don’t need to work at being lean as much as women, who have struggled to achieve the atrophied, “heroin chic” body shape fashion catwalks demand. But she can foresee a time when male models start starving themselves to fit on catwalks and within magazines.
“I have not had any boys tripping over themselves to get skinny, but it will probably get to a point in maybe five years where you see boys living on coffee and cigarettes for fashion.”
Nice website!!
Nice website!!
What is it with people liking skinny models?
It infuriates me how people like the unhealthy look that I seem to be finding everywhere.
This is America, we are not starving. Some people need to realize that having a healthy weight looks better that seeing some one’s bones through their skin. All through out history men were attracted to women who had a wider girth because it was believed that they were more suited for child birth. Heck, a womans curves have been appreciated all through out the history of art simply because they were pleasing to the eye. The same goes for men. I personally go for fitter, more athletic guys because they tend to be more confident and better looking. Any one I’ve met who agrees with me all say that they prefer stronger guys so that the men will protect them.
What happened to society?
And by the way, nice article.
What is it with people liking skinny models?
It infuriates me how people like the unhealthy look that I seem to be finding everywhere.
This is America, we are not starving. Some people need to realize that having a healthy weight looks better that seeing some one’s bones through their skin. All through out history men were attracted to women who had a wider girth because it was believed that they were more suited for child birth. Heck, a womans curves have been appreciated all through out the history of art simply because they were pleasing to the eye. The same goes for men. I personally go for fitter, more athletic guys because they tend to be more confident and better looking. Any one I’ve met who agrees with me all say that they prefer stronger guys so that the men will protect them.
What happened to society?
And by the way, nice article.
What is it with people liking skinny models?
It infuriates me how people like the unhealthy look that I seem to be finding everywhere.
This is America, we are not starving. Some people need to realize that having a healthy weight looks better that seeing some one’s bones through their skin. All through out history men were attracted to women who had a wider girth because it was believed that they were more suited for child birth. Heck, a womans curves have been appreciated all through out the history of art simply because they were pleasing to the eye. The same goes for men. I personally go for fitter, more athletic guys because they tend to be more confident and better looking. Any one I’ve met who agrees with me all say that they prefer stronger guys so that the men will protect them.
What happened to society?
And by the way, nice article.
those r great news!
im sure i will never have a strong body like those famous models.
im super skinny n i want to be a model. so i dont need to work so hard to do it 😀
i love the new fashion 😀
super cool 😀
got skinny <3
those r great news!
im sure i will never have a strong body like those famous models.
im super skinny n i want to be a model. so i dont need to work so hard to do it 😀
i love the new fashion 😀
super cool 😀
got skinny <3
those r great news!
im sure i will never have a strong body like those famous models.
im super skinny n i want to be a model. so i dont need to work so hard to do it 😀
i love the new fashion 😀
super cool 😀
got skinny <3
“All through out history men were attracted to women who had a wider girth because it was believed that they were more suited for child birth.”
While it is true that people believed this it is also true that those women in art which you are referring to were, in fact, at an unhealthy weight- at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and numerous other undesirable traits. This argument, which I have heard so many times, is a moot point. Underweight or overweight- pick your poison. Or, don’t! Either way just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
Fashion is art and art is extreme. If not it’s boring.
“All through out history men were attracted to women who had a wider girth because it was believed that they were more suited for child birth.”
While it is true that people believed this it is also true that those women in art which you are referring to were, in fact, at an unhealthy weight- at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and numerous other undesirable traits. This argument, which I have heard so many times, is a moot point. Underweight or overweight- pick your poison. Or, don’t! Either way just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
Fashion is art and art is extreme. If not it’s boring.
“All through out history men were attracted to women who had a wider girth because it was believed that they were more suited for child birth.”
While it is true that people believed this it is also true that those women in art which you are referring to were, in fact, at an unhealthy weight- at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and numerous other undesirable traits. This argument, which I have heard so many times, is a moot point. Underweight or overweight- pick your poison. Or, don’t! Either way just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
Fashion is art and art is extreme. If not it’s boring.
actually we are living on diet coke and cigarettes. who wants to be a fat guy?
actually we are living on diet coke and cigarettes. who wants to be a fat guy?
actually we are living on diet coke and cigarettes. who wants to be a fat guy?
“Fashion is art and art is extreme. If not it’s boring.”
Im a surrealist painter myself, and I think that is a ridiculous statement.
Art can be suited for society, and fashion is suited for a number of people in society. What would gain it more attraction within society was if fashion was MORE ARTISTIC!
When one system is overused in art-people throughout history start to rebel and form their own interpretations of art-all for the sake of being different, controversial, and Unique!!
What I am saying is: the heroin chic is overused.
I think it would keep society on its toes and could draw more people into fashion and the art of clothing if every once in a while-they actually did something Not boring.
We have Seen the skinny heroin look, its wonderful. But how many times have you seen a hugely fat, big boned woman in high fashion except for Oprah? Is that ugly? There is art of these women not in the past but in the present, the fact that fat women are of historical significance is an ignorance. Plus, when Paris Hilton visited whichever LDC country and passed out pictures of herself in a bathing suit to the village people, they were confused-because they think skinny is unattractive.
We haven’t seen the healthy body with 16-24% bodyfat, or the girl with massive boobs and wierd legs, what about legs that point in or out naturally? The girl that has a neck that is too long or too short. What about a girl with cancer-that has no boobs? Its not a freakshow, its the nature of the body, and respecting the vast unique shapes and lines.
The body is an Accessory Of the clothing, it acts as a portal to a heavenly life that is just beyond our reach.
The contours of the body can produce feelings, perspectives, and thoughts. These people, they are artists of clothes but they do not know the art of the body. They are dull, it is why I am Never to be in that industry. Dull is in itself an art, but dull has been overDone in this particular case.
“Fashion is art and art is extreme. If not it’s boring.”
Im a surrealist painter myself, and I think that is a ridiculous statement.
Art can be suited for society, and fashion is suited for a number of people in society. What would gain it more attraction within society was if fashion was MORE ARTISTIC!
When one system is overused in art-people throughout history start to rebel and form their own interpretations of art-all for the sake of being different, controversial, and Unique!!
What I am saying is: the heroin chic is overused.
I think it would keep society on its toes and could draw more people into fashion and the art of clothing if every once in a while-they actually did something Not boring.
We have Seen the skinny heroin look, its wonderful. But how many times have you seen a hugely fat, big boned woman in high fashion except for Oprah? Is that ugly? There is art of these women not in the past but in the present, the fact that fat women are of historical significance is an ignorance. Plus, when Paris Hilton visited whichever LDC country and passed out pictures of herself in a bathing suit to the village people, they were confused-because they think skinny is unattractive.
We haven’t seen the healthy body with 16-24% bodyfat, or the girl with massive boobs and wierd legs, what about legs that point in or out naturally? The girl that has a neck that is too long or too short. What about a girl with cancer-that has no boobs? Its not a freakshow, its the nature of the body, and respecting the vast unique shapes and lines.
The body is an Accessory Of the clothing, it acts as a portal to a heavenly life that is just beyond our reach.
The contours of the body can produce feelings, perspectives, and thoughts. These people, they are artists of clothes but they do not know the art of the body. They are dull, it is why I am Never to be in that industry. Dull is in itself an art, but dull has been overDone in this particular case.
“Fashion is art and art is extreme. If not it’s boring.”
Im a surrealist painter myself, and I think that is a ridiculous statement.
Art can be suited for society, and fashion is suited for a number of people in society. What would gain it more attraction within society was if fashion was MORE ARTISTIC!
When one system is overused in art-people throughout history start to rebel and form their own interpretations of art-all for the sake of being different, controversial, and Unique!!
What I am saying is: the heroin chic is overused.
I think it would keep society on its toes and could draw more people into fashion and the art of clothing if every once in a while-they actually did something Not boring.
We have Seen the skinny heroin look, its wonderful. But how many times have you seen a hugely fat, big boned woman in high fashion except for Oprah? Is that ugly? There is art of these women not in the past but in the present, the fact that fat women are of historical significance is an ignorance. Plus, when Paris Hilton visited whichever LDC country and passed out pictures of herself in a bathing suit to the village people, they were confused-because they think skinny is unattractive.
We haven’t seen the healthy body with 16-24% bodyfat, or the girl with massive boobs and wierd legs, what about legs that point in or out naturally? The girl that has a neck that is too long or too short. What about a girl with cancer-that has no boobs? Its not a freakshow, its the nature of the body, and respecting the vast unique shapes and lines.
The body is an Accessory Of the clothing, it acts as a portal to a heavenly life that is just beyond our reach.
The contours of the body can produce feelings, perspectives, and thoughts. These people, they are artists of clothes but they do not know the art of the body. They are dull, it is why I am Never to be in that industry. Dull is in itself an art, but dull has been overDone in this particular case.
skinny does not automatically mean anorexic/sick.
skinny does not automatically mean anorexic/sick.
skinny does not automatically mean anorexic/sick.
sometimes you are just born thin, and you can’t help that.
i think it’s great that this look is in, but like all looks it will go away.
it just gives hope to people like myself that one day i can be a model without having to look
like im on steroids.
sometimes you are just born thin, and you can’t help that.
i think it’s great that this look is in, but like all looks it will go away.
it just gives hope to people like myself that one day i can be a model without having to look
like im on steroids.
sometimes you are just born thin, and you can’t help that.
i think it’s great that this look is in, but like all looks it will go away.
it just gives hope to people like myself that one day i can be a model without having to look
like im on steroids.
Mmmmyeah-I dont remember if I implied that thin was sickly but if I did I didnt mean to-at least in hindsight.
Mmmmyeah-I dont remember if I implied that thin was sickly but if I did I didnt mean to-at least in hindsight.
Mmmmyeah-I dont remember if I implied that thin was sickly but if I did I didnt mean to-at least in hindsight.
Ok, IMO, the skinnier you are/the fatter you are, the more unhealthy you are, period.
This is a great article, but the “I’m naturally skinny” comments tick me off. I’m a naturally skinny guy, but you know what, no one treated me like some freak or weirdo because I’m skinny. If you wanna blame something for your getting put down, blame yourself for allowing others to treat you that way. Grow a spine.
You can be and do anything you want no matter your size so those comments saying “I’m glad this is the style because I’m naturally skinny and I don’t need to exercise” grow up. You’re probably skinny, but you’re most likely just as unhealthy as any fat guy/girl out there because your lazy and won’t get up from routine and do something physical.
Yes, the first thing that these disgusting models bring to my mind is the unhealthy. If they were huge obese people, I’d think the same thing. curves are attractive, no one wants to hang on to a pole/a blimp.
You are how you are, and unless you’re a moron you should stop looking for some model magazine to tell you if that’s ok or not.
Ok, IMO, the skinnier you are/the fatter you are, the more unhealthy you are, period.
This is a great article, but the “I’m naturally skinny” comments tick me off. I’m a naturally skinny guy, but you know what, no one treated me like some freak or weirdo because I’m skinny. If you wanna blame something for your getting put down, blame yourself for allowing others to treat you that way. Grow a spine.
You can be and do anything you want no matter your size so those comments saying “I’m glad this is the style because I’m naturally skinny and I don’t need to exercise” grow up. You’re probably skinny, but you’re most likely just as unhealthy as any fat guy/girl out there because your lazy and won’t get up from routine and do something physical.
Yes, the first thing that these disgusting models bring to my mind is the unhealthy. If they were huge obese people, I’d think the same thing. curves are attractive, no one wants to hang on to a pole/a blimp.
You are how you are, and unless you’re a moron you should stop looking for some model magazine to tell you if that’s ok or not.
Ok, IMO, the skinnier you are/the fatter you are, the more unhealthy you are, period.
This is a great article, but the “I’m naturally skinny” comments tick me off. I’m a naturally skinny guy, but you know what, no one treated me like some freak or weirdo because I’m skinny. If you wanna blame something for your getting put down, blame yourself for allowing others to treat you that way. Grow a spine.
You can be and do anything you want no matter your size so those comments saying “I’m glad this is the style because I’m naturally skinny and I don’t need to exercise” grow up. You’re probably skinny, but you’re most likely just as unhealthy as any fat guy/girl out there because your lazy and won’t get up from routine and do something physical.
Yes, the first thing that these disgusting models bring to my mind is the unhealthy. If they were huge obese people, I’d think the same thing. curves are attractive, no one wants to hang on to a pole/a blimp.
You are how you are, and unless you’re a moron you should stop looking for some model magazine to tell you if that’s ok or not.
Why is it designers think we want to see children modelling adult fashion. I have spent the last two days surfing the net looking at fashion shows and nearly all the models are scrawny little runts. It was so hard to find a male model who didn’t look as though he still had a face full of bum fluff or still needed his Mommy to tuck him in at night. Where are the real men? The females are no better. Half the clothes hung listlessly on them, they had nothing there to fill them out. Hello! Who are the designers really designing for? The models or real people in the real world. Remember us. We know we’re not all shaped like the models but apparently the designers don’t. Guys, wake up and smell the coffee.
Why is it designers think we want to see children modelling adult fashion. I have spent the last two days surfing the net looking at fashion shows and nearly all the models are scrawny little runts. It was so hard to find a male model who didn’t look as though he still had a face full of bum fluff or still needed his Mommy to tuck him in at night. Where are the real men? The females are no better. Half the clothes hung listlessly on them, they had nothing there to fill them out. Hello! Who are the designers really designing for? The models or real people in the real world. Remember us. We know we’re not all shaped like the models but apparently the designers don’t. Guys, wake up and smell the coffee.
Why is it designers think we want to see children modelling adult fashion. I have spent the last two days surfing the net looking at fashion shows and nearly all the models are scrawny little runts. It was so hard to find a male model who didn’t look as though he still had a face full of bum fluff or still needed his Mommy to tuck him in at night. Where are the real men? The females are no better. Half the clothes hung listlessly on them, they had nothing there to fill them out. Hello! Who are the designers really designing for? The models or real people in the real world. Remember us. We know we’re not all shaped like the models but apparently the designers don’t. Guys, wake up and smell the coffee.
To insight that skinny models are sickly, ill, ugly, or not realistic is as extreme as saying that larger models (of all sizes including normal average sizes) are fat, ugly, sick, etc. It seems that there is no happy ground in the modeling industry and no matter what size you are there will be criticism. No it is not wrong to voice your opinion or even write to the designer your exact feelings about the direction their brand is heading. However, slinging mud and making accusations that may or may not be true certainly does not solve the problem.
Thin does not mean sickly. A person does not have to have an eating disorder or be ill to be thin. For some people, myself included, being thin is normal. For other people having extra meat on their bones is normal and is just as natural.
Either way I must agree with Kim’s comment, “Who are the designers really designing for? The models or real people in the real world. Remember us.” It is sad that designers only design for a small portion of the population and an even smaller number who will buy their creation. However there is also something to be said for clothing stores or even shoe stores that only buy clothing for the average person and exclude the rest. At the end of the day, odds are your probably not going to be wearing designer clothes anyway and neither will I. So perhaps the true statement is: do not worry who models the clothes because by the time it shows up for an affordable price, it is scaled to the average person instead. As Jon wrote above, “Either way just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!”
To insight that skinny models are sickly, ill, ugly, or not realistic is as extreme as saying that larger models (of all sizes including normal average sizes) are fat, ugly, sick, etc. It seems that there is no happy ground in the modeling industry and no matter what size you are there will be criticism. No it is not wrong to voice your opinion or even write to the designer your exact feelings about the direction their brand is heading. However, slinging mud and making accusations that may or may not be true certainly does not solve the problem.
Thin does not mean sickly. A person does not have to have an eating disorder or be ill to be thin. For some people, myself included, being thin is normal. For other people having extra meat on their bones is normal and is just as natural.
Either way I must agree with Kim’s comment, “Who are the designers really designing for? The models or real people in the real world. Remember us.” It is sad that designers only design for a small portion of the population and an even smaller number who will buy their creation. However there is also something to be said for clothing stores or even shoe stores that only buy clothing for the average person and exclude the rest. At the end of the day, odds are your probably not going to be wearing designer clothes anyway and neither will I. So perhaps the true statement is: do not worry who models the clothes because by the time it shows up for an affordable price, it is scaled to the average person instead. As Jon wrote above, “Either way just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!”
To insight that skinny models are sickly, ill, ugly, or not realistic is as extreme as saying that larger models (of all sizes including normal average sizes) are fat, ugly, sick, etc. It seems that there is no happy ground in the modeling industry and no matter what size you are there will be criticism. No it is not wrong to voice your opinion or even write to the designer your exact feelings about the direction their brand is heading. However, slinging mud and making accusations that may or may not be true certainly does not solve the problem.
Thin does not mean sickly. A person does not have to have an eating disorder or be ill to be thin. For some people, myself included, being thin is normal. For other people having extra meat on their bones is normal and is just as natural.
Either way I must agree with Kim’s comment, “Who are the designers really designing for? The models or real people in the real world. Remember us.” It is sad that designers only design for a small portion of the population and an even smaller number who will buy their creation. However there is also something to be said for clothing stores or even shoe stores that only buy clothing for the average person and exclude the rest. At the end of the day, odds are your probably not going to be wearing designer clothes anyway and neither will I. So perhaps the true statement is: do not worry who models the clothes because by the time it shows up for an affordable price, it is scaled to the average person instead. As Jon wrote above, “Either way just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!”
This is disgusting. There is no need to be skinny. That leads to anerexia, which isn’t good on any level. The more I look at models the more I think, “wow, they look so weird. No shape. Only there bone structure.” this is very unhealthy it should change. This is going to lead to really bad problems in today’s generation. People will see those and think I want to be skinny but the way there body is shapped it’s not possible for them to be really skinny. Therefor it leads to anerexia which is nvr good. Designers should have them as they are if they come buff keep em buff if they come skinny keep em skinny but don’t make them
Into something they aren’t. That’s just wrong