Are models too young these days?
Balenciaga selected 15-year-old Juliane Gruner, 17-year-old Laura Kampman, 15-year-old Kirstin Liljegren, and 15-year-old Rosie Tapner (left to right) for their Spring 2012 ad campaign that will be shot by Steven Meisel.
Coco Rocha, who was discovered when she was 14, told Anderson Cooper: “You’re taking them out of high school and putting them in an industry that is treating them like adults—and they don’t know how to deal with that. They’re thinking about, ‘how can I please you? It doesn’t matter what I have to do, how can I please you?’ If we were probably older, wiser, there wouldn’t be as many problems—there would still be problems, but not as many.”
Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo, now 22 years old, was discovered at age 15. She told Fashionista: “You’re sixteen and thrown into this world of adults, and you have to be an adult. You have to deal with everything, you have to deal with your money and with rejection. You grow up really quick. It’s very stressful, it’s a lot of traveling, a lot of time away from family, a lot of dealing with stuff you shouldn’t be dealing with at that age. I think you should be able to get discovered when you’re young but maybe not get thrown into it so full on. Maybe start off that everyone has to finish school and that you don’t move away from home right away and there are more restrictions on hours.”
In 1949, 14-year-old Brigitte Bardot made the cover of Elle.
In 1980, 15-year-old Brooke Shields caused controversy with her Calvin Klein ads. In the commercials, her line was: “You know what comes between me and my Calvin’s? Nothing.”
When Angelina Jolie was 16, she did some modeling, and the photos feature her in provocative poses.
The 17-year-old actress, Dakota Fanning, and her 13-year-old sister, Elle Fanning, have broken into the fashion industry. They’ve had photoshoots in Vogue and W, and Dakota had a campaign with Marc Jacobs.
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit actress), 14 years old, was featured in Miu Miu’s campaign.
14-year-old actress Chloe Moretz is another young actress who has recently been featured in fashion magazines, such as Elle.
In 2008, Annie Leibovitz photographed 15-year-old Miley Cyrus who was covering herself with only a sheet.
Kate Moss’s 13-year-old sister, Lottie, has started to model.
Last year, when Kendall Jenner (Kim Kardashian’s sister) was 14, she started her modeling career.
This past September, her 14-year-old sister, Kylie Jenner, walked in Avril Lavigne’s Abbey Dawn fashion show.
The CFDA has launched a Model Health Initiative, which prevents girls under 16 from appearing on catwalks and requires young models to be chaperoned. The guidelines of the new program include educating models about healthy eating habits and encouraging models with eating disorders to seek professional help.
There are many 15 year old models in ads and walking in fashion shows (they still get away with it despite the new rules). However, one of the most controversial young models is 10-year-old Thylane Lena Rose Blondeau, who has already appeared in Vogue Paris. She walked the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier at the age of 4. Are the following photos edgy and fashion forward or inappropriate and creepy?
