{the b-side)

Thursday, September 21, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 7B

Model Renn's curves the perfect size for D&G

By Caroline Hartmann
Daily Arts Writer
Crystal Renn is glamorously
sexy. She's a jet-setting high-fash-
ion model who's effortlessly allur-
ing, regally balanced and ... a size
12?
Renn has been modeling since
she was 14, but almost no one
recognized her face until this
past year when she emerged on
the scene 70 pounds heavier
than modeling agents originally
demanded. Renn rebounded from
an anorexic past to become a suc-
cessful plus-size model, and has
consequently become fashion's
new face for promoting a healthy
body image.
Renn's recent success isn't just
a pity party. She's become one of
Dolce & Gabbana's sultry new icons
and has walked the runway for Jean
Paul Gaultier, who designed a sheer,
curve-hugging gown especially for
her shapely figure.
But let's not get carried away:
A quick glance at any newsstand
is evidence enough that size 12 is
by no means the new and accepted
norm.
"Doesn't anybody eat around
here?" a resigned Anne Hathaway
asked in "The Devil Wears Prada"
"Not since two is the new four and
zero is the new two,' countered her
magazine colleague, Nigel.
"Well, I'm a six..."
"Ah-ha, the new 14."
It's no secret that the media ham-
mers us with an unattainable model
of beauty, but professional lighting
and precision make-up jobs don't
shield most of us from our off days
and clumsy slips.
That's not to say that being stick-
figure thin is a requirement, either.
With obesity on the rise, a push for
healthier lifestyles is becoming as
pervasive as the media's unattain-
able images we're expected to imi-
tate.
We all bore witness to Dove's
Campaign For Real Beauty,
designed to celebrate every
woman's body and promote "a
broader, healthier, more demo-
cratic view of beauty." The ads
showed women of all ages, sizes

and races. Response to the cam-
paign varied, but Dove's initiative
provided the impetus for honest
dialogue.
Even Barbie has had a facelift
since the days of our childhood,
when her impossibly narrow waist-
line and towering legs - heels
perpetually anticipating a pair of
fluorescent pink pumps - spelled
perfection. Mattel's plasticmoldhas
changed to make room for wider
hips and a considerably reduced
bustline.
The point is, society is begin-
ning to embrace a more compre-
hensive view of beauty, but the
fashion industry hasn't completely
caught up.
Spain's premier fashion event,
Pasarela Cibeles, will enforce a
minimum weight-requirement for
models stepping on the runway this
year. The new protocol is an attempt
to appease volatile reactions from
public and health officials after last
year's show, criticized by many as a
grotesque parade of waifish manne-
quins. The idea is as encouraging as
it is radical, but the new regulations
have caused more aggravation than
anything else.
In reality, the fashion industry is
hardly ignorant of its unforgiving
standards. If designers were genu-
inely concerned about the pressure
on models to conform to an ideal
body shape, the industry would
have already attempted to change
the system.
What's most disconcerting is the
industry's willingness to bend to
a nagging public. Fashion has his-
torically been ahead of the people,
generating distinctively progres-
sive designs that are ultimately fed
to the masses. If designers choose
to address the market's anxieties
before giving birth to their own cre-
ative instincts, what will the future
of fashion become?
Call me pessimistic, but the
probability of a full-blown shift in
body image perception is less than
likely on the part of the fashion
industry, especially in the over-
night manner people are pushing
for. With this in mind, should Renn
simply be classified as the media's
token plus-size model? Her story is

Courtesy of Ford Mode ng
Plus-size model and new Dolce & Gabbana face Crystal Renn.I

r 1

an easy one to splash on the page
in defense as the global society
takes to criticism.
But all ulterior motives aside,
Renn represents more than laugh-
able novelty. Her impeccable bone
structure and piercing brown eyes
lay the foundation for her expres-
sive versatility, and her feminine
curves can be both voluptuous and
delicate at once. She's been photo-
graphed wearing everything from
seductive lingerie to classic Medi-
terranean, exuding confidence in
every shot.
Even more impressive is that
designers and photographers aren't
working their tricks to play down
her size, a recurrent strategy in
plus-size modeling. If anything,
Renn's curves are accentuated to

full-figured flattery.
Renn epitomized D&G's ideal
woman in the design house's sum-
mer ad campaign, clad in sexy leop-
ard-print and shooting come-hither
glances. "The Dolce & Gabanna
woman is strong," reads their web-
site. "She likes herself and knows
she is liked.
Renn's modeling talent shouldn't
go overlooked in place of the plus-
size demographic she will inevi-
tably symbolize, but whether her
place in the fashion industry rep-
resents more than a fleeting trend
toward health and body acceptance
remains to be seen. She wouldn't be
the first model in history to break
with tradition and wind up on top
- but she also wouldn't be the first
to disappear.

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