Heroin chic is stalking the catwalks again

Stick-thin models are filling my social media — and it's seriously worrying

- Adot Gak

Heroin chic never truly left — but now it’s here with a vengeance I haven’t seen in years. Why now? It feels like an insult to the past decade of progress on size inclusivity in the fashion industry. There’s also the influence of powerful new drugs, but more on that later.

One might think that the business has changed dramatically. From my perspective as a model, though, it’s the same. Fashion week is still an absolute nightmare for me and my friends in the industry — especially when it comes to the measuring tapes. I’ve been thin most of my life but when it comes to modelling I’ve never felt like I was enough, despite having the perfect measurements.

I grew up in a culture that praises and celebrates women with curves and big butts — an amazing body type in itself — and being skinny wasn’t something that was celebrated.

I worked at McDonald’s for years trying to gain weight because I was so thin. I was bullied — at home as well as at school — and called all kinds of names. There were even times when I would miss school so I didn’t get bullied.

My mom took me to all different kinds of doctors to try and find a way for me to gain some weight. Nothing helped. Not overeating, not eating fast food, not even birth control.

Nothing. I have tried it all. But even though I am in a society which celebrates me as I am, I’ve had my fair share of eating disorders and extreme body dysmorphia. For the longest time I thought I was the only one but most models go through it. Thirty-four inches on the hips is the ideal size and that is the size most models struggle with. Some models go days without eating. If they do eat it’s just one meal a day to keep the weight off.

Fashion month’s dark side