DECONSTRUCTING "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA": Let's Talk Starving Models

Emily: Andrea, my God! You look so chic.
Andy Sachs: Oh, thanks. You look so thin.
Emily: Really? It's for Paris, I'm on this new diet. Well, I don't eat anything and when I feel like I'm about to faint I eat a cube of cheese. I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.

I had a terrible  stomach flu a few years ago, couldn't hold anything down for days.  I thought about this quote, and consoled myself that maybe all the wretchedness would be worth it if I'd drop a pound or two.  When I gained the strength to climb back on the scale, I found I'd lost no weight at all.  Very disappointing.

It's also disappointing that this movie makes such a joke out of a real problem in the industry - models do terrible things to themselves to get and stay in the business.  Extremely thin young girls are told they aren't thin enough, and if they want to keep working they need to lose more.  Ever wonder why most models (and most Hollywood starlets) smoke?  Nicotine is an appetite suppressant.  Cocaine continues to be popular for the same reason.  Ditto for diet Red Bull.  And, if the latest rumors are true, the line today might not mention cubes of cheese, but cotton balls dipped in orange juice instead.

Many of the models these days are so thin that their ribs and spines are visible.  They look like something out of a war documentary.  The fashion press routinely photoshops their skin smooth over these visible bones.  Don't believe me?  When the summer fashion shows start, take a look at the press dailies before they've been edited.

Why this constant push to be ever smaller?  Designers point at modeling agencies ("this is all they send us!"), agencies point at designers ("this is all they want!"), and fashion press points at both ("what else can we do, it's all we have to work with!").  I have my suspicions on the source.  Anyone who has watched a season or two of "Project Runway" has seen the designers fight over the thinnest girls, because curves are harder to sew for.  Designers want clothes hangers traipsing down the runway, and that image is becoming more literal as the models waste away.