State of Modelling Industry Attacked Directly by Former Models

by Lauren Zahra in Issues, September 17, 2009

The fashion world of the past few weeks has been dominated by news of airbrushing encouraging anorexia in teens, size-12 models being considered fat and models making claims about living on nothing but “vodka, coffee, champagne and cigarettes”. Hardly the stories you’d expect to be reading in the run up to London Fashion Week. Nevertheless, this is what has been at the forefront of industry discussions recently.

German actress and former model Diane Kruger has added to the debate over fashion industry ethics today by detailing her reasons for leaving the modelling industry to Interview magazine.

Kruger turned to modelling after an injury ended her ballet career prematurely, and in 1992 was a finalist in a leading modelling agency’s “Look of the Year” competition at the age of 16. She became a successful model in Germany and France for the rest of the 1990s.

“I’ve got to tell you, the reason I stopped modelling was because I wasn’t pleased with trying to portray something that is impossible to reach,” she says, candidly. “That pursuit of an impossible perfection seems ridiculous to me now. I’d rather show my vulnerabilities and doubts than try to be something that no one is.”

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Kruger’s successful acting career has, however, kept her involved in the fringes of the fashion industry. She is a favourite of Hollywood designers Roberto Cavalli and Karl Lagerfield, choosing their vintage-inspired dresses for her frequent red carpet appearances. She’s also been spotted in Versace and Chanel at events for Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, ‘Inglourious Basterds’.

In July, fellow actress Robin Wright Penn told Culture Magazine about her own negative modelling experiences as a teenage model: “It was destructive to my self-esteem,” she said. “It f**ked me up. Big time.”

Modelling is an incredibly competitive industry and it’s easy to see how people become disheartened. However, mainstream fashion modelling doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole industry – commercial modelling requires real people of all looks, shapes, sizes, heights and personalities.