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“Lelli Kelly’s would not be replaced by Louboutins.”

MAY 2015

Welcome!

Editor’s Letter...

Here at Vizard, our aim is to encourage diversity within the fashion industry that is so flawless. Why shouldn’t models of different age ranges and body shapes and ethnicities,

grace the catwalks throughout fashion month? If you’re healthy and not a skeletal size zero, why are you considered “too fat” to model? Why should people who have a disability, be discriminated against? These are the kind of questions we strive to answer and investigate.We want to make this world a more diverse place and strongly feelthat, there is absolutely no limit on what we can achieve - together.

Please feel free to join the debate on Facebook and Twitter!I hope you love, love, love our first issue!

E D I T O R @EMILY_VIZARD

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The debut issue of Vizard investigates age and body image, plus how these are portrayed in our society.

Why do Vogue think it’s okay to use minors as models and dramatically age their appearance?

Why

are women brainwashed into buying anti-ageing products, because looking their age is some sortof criminal offence?Why

do they make innocent children sexual objects?

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“Children are gifts - not to be wrapped and sold.”

Firstly, what Vogue did is wrong. It is wrong because children should not be stripped of their innocence at such a young age. They have their whole lives to look like adults, so why should the short amount of time when it is acceptable to be young - the time that is so limited and precious - be compromised? The answer is, it shouldn’t. Thylane Blondeau, the thirteen year old who is most associated with Vogue Paris’ spreads, was a shocking ten years of age when she modelled costly clothing, shoes and jewellery for the fashion magazine. The products were noticeably ill fitting, which confuses me as I wonder why a model in her twenties was not more appropriate. Thylane, among others, sported a face full of make-up while not one hair was out of place. What’s more distressing, are her sultry poses and inviting eyes. When I was ten, I would be found “playing out” with the girls and boys who share

my street, or riding around on my beloved Barbie bike. I definitely did not have coatings of cosmetics covering my face, nor did I have my hair singed by styling tongs, while wearing the latest Gucci dress to grace the catwalk. Why should children be turned into business ventures? Vogue’s actions, seen as corporate paedophilia and dubbed ‘sexploitation’ sparked outrage and caused controversy across the globe, unsurprisingly. They said the whole thing was a misunderstanding, but parents did not agree with this, arguing that, “Children are gifts, not to be wrapped and sold.” I do not have children of my own, but I can assure you that if I did, their Lelli Kelly’s would not be replaced by Louboutins, nor would they become sex symbols. They would be spend their free time playing with dolls, as I did at the tender age of ten, rather than looking like dolls.

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Amy Jussel, founder of shapingyouth.org, insisted that Vogue’s decision to exploit children was “Yet another candid exposure of reckless industry hipsters who place profit over public health, regardless of who gets caught in the crossfire of the media blast zone.” I couldn’t agree more with the notion that children are gifts and, incase you didn’t know, “Cadeaux” translates as ‘gifts’ in French. I’m positive that I won’t be the only one who finds this immensely ironic. The focal point of their spreads is fancy frocks and grand gifts, but overlook the materialism and you’ll realise that the children are the real ‘gifts’ here. I asked my parents how they would feel if I was put in Blondeau’s shoes at the age of ten. My mam replied, “I would definitely feel uncomfortable - it’s really not something I would ever encourage.” while interestingly, my dad said: “I see it as a great career opportunity.

If you were a model and this is what they wanted to do, I’d be fine with it, providing they didn’t cross the line. As a dad, I would question whether it was necessary for some of the dresses to reveal so much leg - I wouldn’t allow that. Make-up is fine, but the ones where they have became sexual objects, that’s where the line has been crossed.” When you consider our strength as consumers, why this is still is being done, is questionable. Brands tend to go with that they think their target audience would like, when it comes togenerating advertising ideas. In 2004, belovedbeaty brand ‘Dove’ scouted a variety of “real women” to front their new campaign, which triumped all around the world. They knew what their consumers wanted to see. Vogue shouldhave known how their consumers would react about the ‘Cadeaux’ campaigns, so why did they proceed with such a demoralising idea?

“Make-up is fine, but the ones where they have became sexual objects, that’s where the line has been crossed.”

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I also asked a selection of classmates’ views on the situation and got some thought provoking responses. Amy McReady declared that it is selfish and asked, “Why would you allow someone to do that to your child?” while Beth Laskey stated that it highly annoyed her. Holli Crawford suggested that the children’s parents only care about earning money, while Rachel White proposed a stimulating point: “Some parents encourage this, it could be because they didn’t have the same opportunity when they were children.” Although the girls will make enormous sums of money and gain careers from their roles in the spreads, this does not justify Vogue’s actions. Taking their juvenility into account, I am intrigued as to how they became hired - are selfish, egotistical parents to blame?

Vogue’s shots were captured by Tom Ford - a designer known for controversial advertising. His campaigns denote sexual, explicit imagery, leading me to believe that he is the man responsible for what many see as child pornography. The campaigns for his self-titled fragrance feature a naked woman with a bottle positioned in between their breasts or legs. I find myself struggling to answer the common question that is - what does this have to do with the product? Was it done purely to shock, in the hope that it will increase sales? My view is that it will do the opposite, as the concept “sex sells” does not appeal to all.

“Why would you allow someone to do that to your child?”

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Hair Dye

Anti-WrinkleCream

Women should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they want to age naturally. It should not be something that is decided for them. Sadly, this is how women feel, like they have no choice at all in the matter, due to being pressurised into making themselves look more youthful and going crazy for latest fad product, in attempt to do so. Because standing out would be sinful, wouldn’t it? If you embrace your grey hair, or your lines and wrinkles, then you deserve to do time. This attitude is wrong and must stop. I feel such empathy for the women who feel as if they couldn’t walk down the street, or go into work, without dying their tired looking tresses. If a middle-aged or an elderly woman wants to embrace her hair’s natural greyness, instead of following the crowd of concealers, why shouldn’t she? This is exactly why part two of Vizard, reviews the role reversal of part one.To learn the thoughts of those who are targeted,

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Dark SpotCorrector

BlemishConcealer

I have interviewed Sharon Jackson, a 55 year old woman who is just one of the thousands of women who feel forced into appearing more youthful than they actually are. Sharon also took part in a photo shoot, to help Vizard establish this issue in a thought provoking way. We thought it would be captivating to see your average middle-aged woman, dressed in the clothing that would typically be worn by children. Again, this looks at the role reversal of age and body image, and indicates the drastic measures such as cosmetic surgery, in extreme cases, that many undertake just to knock a few years off their appearance.You will soon see that, Sharon is dressed as Snow White. But, she is without her poisoned apple. Or is she? To me, anti-ageing products can be just as poisonous as the apple given to Snow. So, I exchanged the forbidden fruit with some anti-ageing paraphernalia - hoping that this would powerfully get my message across.

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Which anti-ageing products do you use?I use hair dye and a moisturising cream which is said to reduce the look of wrinkles and age spots.

Why do you use these anti-age products?I work in an environment where there are lots of very attractive, wrinkle free women, who are much younger than me. If I didn’t dye my hair I would feel really uncomfortable because I’d stand out, making me feel very self conscious.

And how would you feel if, for whatever reason, those products were taken awayfrom you? If you could not access them?I would feel very upset and become worried.

Why?Because it would truly affect how confident I feel.

Have you ever felt forced, or pressurised, into making yourself look more young?Yes.

Therefore, who or what is responsible for making you feel forced or pressurised?I feel the general public perceive mature people as being less capable than younger people are but, what evidence is there to suggest that a woman who has brown hair would be better at a job than a woman with a head of grey hair?

Do you feel they way women are portrayed in advertising campaigns is misleading?Yes.

“If I didn’t dye my hair I would feel uncomfortable, because I’d stand out.”

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How come?I don’t believe that the styling of some models reflects how mature women want to look. The advertising campaign you just showed me with Claudia Schiffer is not an accurate representation of how the average woman, in her forties, looks.

Would you ever embrace your grey hair?Once I have retired I might consider stopping, because I’ll no longer be in a competitive arena.

Also, would you ever consider cosmetic surgery to make yourself look younger?No. Definitely not.

Why not?I think the risks outweigh the benefits and, when you have surgery, the results look so unnatural.

When you took part in the photo shoot, how did my unique styling make you feel?A bit silly.

Can I ask what made you to feel that way?I felt as if I was trying to make myself look muchyounger than I am.

Do you believe the shots from our photo shoot successfully represent my message?I do, yes.

How come?They’re really striking photos which I think willmake a lot of impact, because they cleverly showwhat women do, just to fit in and avoid drawing any bad attention to themselves.

“It’s not an accurate representation of how the average woman in her forties looks.”

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‘Age Perfect’ - The obnoxious name of this product suggests that reducing the look of wrinkles will make you look ‘perfect’ but what if you don’t define looking perfect as being wrinkle free?

‘100% Grey Coverage’ - But what’s wrong with 0% grey coverage? Women should not feel pressurised into masking every strand of who they are.

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Thank you for buying and taking the time to read Vizard. I hope you enjoyed it! Join us again next month, when we’ll be discussing the lack of black models in the fashion industry, accompained by

an interview with model of the moment Jourdan Dunn. See you soon...

vizardSpecial Thanks To:

Model One: Stella ThorntonModel Two: Chloe Lebihan

Model Three: Sharon JacksonPhotography: Emily Jackson

Styling: Emily JacksonInterview: Emily Jackson

We’d love your feedback! Let us know your thoughts using the hashtag -

#vizarddebut

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“What evidence is there to suggest that a woman who has brown hair would be better at a job than a woman with a head of grey hair?”

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