When Jezebel’s Jenna Sauers asked Cindy Crawford if she had any thoughts on Vogue’s new health initiative — since lots of people seem to — she answered, “Honestly, not really.” No? Not even with her own daughter’s burgeoning modeling career and with her long history in the business? She thought a moment before continuing: “But that was never one of my issues, so. I think that the fashion industry is in the consumers’ hands. Because if they buy into it, nothing will change. If consumers don’t like it that models are too skinny, or too young, and they don’t buy the magazines, then believe me, then the magazines will have to change.” Fair enough. What’s more, she doesn’t think that imposing stricter regulations on the industry will help anything.
If you make too many rules — like, ‘You can’t work this many hours’ — it doesn’t work, because sometimes you have to. Sometimes you have to get up early or be prepared to do the job in the freezing cold. I think that, again though, models have to have a voice and speak up for themselves, every day, on the job … People have to respect each other. And if you’re working with someone who doesn’t respect you, then leave.
But it’s more complicated that that, isn’t it? What about a teenage girl from Estonia who traveled halfway around the world to model so that she can help feed her four siblings? It would be awfully hard for her to just “leave.”
