Coco Rocha isn’t one of my favorite models of the current crop (I save that honor for Doutzen Kroes), but I do like her. She’s gives off a vague Linda Evangelista vibe, if Linda ever stayed with a hair color for more than two seconds. Anyway, after I read Coco’s comments to the New York Times, I’m feeling some respect for her. Coco is castigating the fashion industry and their reliance on very, very young girls as the perfect size zero model. Coco points out that she’s a size four, and since she “realized I didn’t have to do everything people told me I should if I wanted a career,” Coco says she’s “not in demand for the shows anymore.” She got tired of people telling her to lose weight, and now she’s on the warpath. Sort of:
“I don’t do nudes, I don’t do semi-nudes, I don’t do cigarette shots,” Coco Rocha was saying on Sunday evening before the Diane Von Furstenberg show at the Bryant Park tents. “It took me a long time in the business to realize I didn’t have to do everything people told me I should if I wanted a career.”
Despite all the recent blather about promoting wholesome body images and encouraging designers to scale up sample sizes — and a prevalent fantasy that the industry has suddenly embraced people of all sorts and shapes — fat in fashion remains anathema.
Ms. Rocha knows this because, incredible as it may seem to anyone who saw her prance down Ms. Von Furstenberg’s catwalk on Sunday (in what was, by the way, one of the most admirably diverse model castings in many a year), a lot of designers no longer hire her for their runways. They consider her a veritable behemoth in a business that makes a fetish of being what the actress Emily Blunt once termed “edge of ill” thin.
“Everybody knows that, in general, a basketball player needs to be tall and a fashion model needs to be skinny, but how skinny is too skinny?” Ms. Rocha asked.
“I’m not in demand for the shows anymore,” said the model, who has worked for Marc Jacobs, Prada, Chanel, Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier and Louis Vuitton, among many others.
“I’ve been told to lose weight when I was really skinny,” said Ms. Rocha, who recently added a new line item to her résumé: correspondent for Modelinia.com, the Web site for the model-obsessed.
“You know what, I’ve stopped caring,” Ms. Rocha said. “If I want a hamburger, I’m going to have one. No 21-year-old should be worrying about whether she fits a sample size.”
“Girls are told they’re not skinny enough, or they hear, ‘She’s old, she’s boring, we’ve had her, she’s not tiny anymore,’ ” Ms. Rocha said. “A lot of people don’t take into account the vulnerability of these young girls.” And the latest crop of models is not made up of “adults or even sort-of adults,” she insisted. “They are children. Point closed.”
[From The New York Times]
I 100% cosign everything Coco said. I’m so tired of seeing little girls model clothes. I’m sorry, but when I see a 13 year old Russian girl modeling some $5000 outfit, I don’t want it. That image doesn’t make me enjoy fashion.
Another thing that bothers me is that most of the “older” models like Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and so many more look amazing, and they should still be getting the major modeling contracts. The one “older” girl who consistently gets work is Kate Moss – and I’m so tired of her starring in every major campaign. It’s tired, and so is she. Instead of searching for the new “fresh” face, why not got back to some of the greats.
She is unphotogenic, I think that is her problem. Usually models look weird in real life and beautiful in pictures.
coco (along with natasha poly) has been my fave since she did her irish dance down Gaultier’s runway.
she takes theee most stunning pictures and has a great walk.
completely agree with her that a lot of the models are far too young to be in the fashion world (unless their parents are with them)….and i completely agree with you that kate is SO tired and played. As bitchy as naomi may be she’s a stunning model and although she does get work (primarily in print with YSL) I think she should be working more than kate.
I went to college in the 1970s with a girl who was a New York runway model at age 12. She was freakishly tall and thin even then. But, at 21-22 years, she was considered too old.
oh blah blah blah. She didn’t complain when she was a size 0 but now that she’s not, it’s all unfair?!? And ‘no one should be worrying if she fits into a sample size” UNLESS IT’S YOUR JOB…Sorry Coco but you signed up for the skinny life, sorry if it sucks but you get paid tons of dough for a career that, if you are lucky, lasts 3 years then you may be able to retire and do whatever you want for the rest of your life! Yeah, cry all the way to the bank….
It has always been like this. Even in the 1930’s the models were thin. Marilyn Monroe was an exception bc she was so curvy and she still was not fat or overweight. I do know that some runway models are a size 4 and they get hired. But I have to agree with the above comment that she is not photogenic and she is also not aging very well for a twenty something.She looks a little rough. I hope she can find a career that she can grow old with.
I don’t feel bad for her at all. If someone was critizying a regular person on the street I would be piss off but she is not a normal person with a regular job. She is a model , her jobs consist of looking skinny , walking and possing , a doctor,lawyer ,teacher, beautycian,electricist needs to keep working on their craft why does the model think she should not?
Plus on top of that she does not want to do semi nudes. So that pretty much takes a lot of jobs from her.
Crystal Reen decided she was not going to starve herself and she became a plus size model , she does nude and she has been in a lot of magazines.
Lara Stone is a size 4,6,8 and she is really in demand because she haves a certain look.
The only thing Coco Rocha had to offer was being a size 0 , now she is not.
The issue isn’t “poor model doesn’t get to make millions of dollars, she signed up to be skinny” I was a size 2, after my baby I am a size 4. My husband tells me he is disapointed I didn’t lost my baby weight (mind you, this was about 4 months after I gave birth) and his excuse was “well I see all these actresses give birth and they are back in weeks” It sets the example for the rest of us. If it is possible, then if we don’t do it, we are just lazy.
if she were still a size 0 and working would she be complaining that the industry promotes unhealthy images? no, she wouldn’t.
AFAIK Lara Stone has been told to loose weight too. I’m sick of stick-thin being promoted as the most stylish of style. Some woman are naturally that shape but most are not. What Coco says may have been said before but it still doesn’t make it any less sad.
i believe gemma ward isn’t getting hired for the same reason – cause she gained weight. doutzen kroes recently spoke out against skinny models as well.
the thing is, a lot of these girls enter into the industry before they hit puberty and they are loved for being skinny. then they hit puberty, get curves and are not feeling the love anymore.
Uh Cat.. I hope he is now your ex husband!
Cat, I think you need to leave your husband!
If mine EVER said anything like that, he knows he would be OUT of here so fast!
It’s called growing up, and having a baby will naturally change your body. No one should EVER make anyone feel bad about not going back to pre-baby size.
Especially men—they have no clue what your body is going through to take care of your child!
@cat congratulations on your new baby. Now tell your husband to stop acting like a dolt. I’m sure he’s not exactly as he was before you married and he didn’t have to have the baby. Perhaps if he had he would be more understanding…
Coco is not just speaking out now that she is not as in demand, she spoke out last yr as well as part of of a panel with DVP, I believe. I admire her for announcing she is not getting as much work and sticking to her guns, not many people in her industry would do that.
When she first arrived on the scene she had a more athletic body than most runway models, but admitted she took diuretics for a short period of time and got down to 108 pounds at 5’10 before deciding that was ridiculous, but even then she was still asked to lose more weight.
I like Coco, I find her charming and well spoken.
Cat, I hope to told him to sleep on the couch.
@Cat-agree with many posters that yr husband is out of line. Size 2-4 is not a huge jump-uh, like 10 lbs. Let’s not forget YOU WERE SUSTAINING A HUMAN BEING IN YOUR BODY.
and now you’re nourishing and caring for the baby 24/7. size 4 after baby (naturally) is pretty awesome.
celebrities who mysteriously drop, say, 30 lbs of baby weight w/i 4 weeks are either Photoshop victims or doing way unhealthy stuff like starving, overexercising, etc.
no offense, but your husband needs to get a clue. you were hot before and you’re prob more hot post-baby.
Gemma Ward is loosing a lot of job because of her weight gain, but with her was so shocking because she was so skinny and suddenly she looks like a regular person a gorgeous regular person.
The problem with her was that she is still compeeting with the size 0 and the “straigh fashion” only do up to size 4 and the rare 6( most of them time there are no model this size because you either gain weight or loose weight), anyone who is bigger than that haves to do “plus size” or in the real world normal.
And lets not forget – a size 4 is very, very skinny. A size 0 after adolescence – especially if your tall, isn’t healthy. Cat, I’m so sorry to hear that. Your husband is lucky to have you, since he’s apparently not real bright – those actresses have personal trainers, personal chefs, post baby tummy tucks and airbrushing.
FYI this was me 6 weeks after giving birth. People’s standard are very warped by what is shown in the media
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j200/catgirl82/FC_4788SM.jpg
I mean i have always been curvy, but he takes that as a euphemism for chubby. it didnt matter how many compliments i got, or how many times people asked if i adopted because of how i recovered
models are paid to be skinny, she is not so what’s the big deal? she should have thought about it before she ate hundreds of humburgers, that’s pretty obvious.
I always hated the way editors were trying to make Coco out like she was the next Linda Evangelista. I’m not into her look. While she may be right that they aren’t hiring her, it might not be because of her weight gain. It might be that they simply don’t want to pay her the top dollar she began to demand. These days, the designers don’t want “supermodels”. Those were crazy times in the late 80’s-mid 90’s when the girls like Naomi, Linda, Christy, Cindy, etc., were getting paid crazy cash. I kind of miss those days, but they don’t let us get used to any girl for very long. A few seasons, and it’s on to the new face. Too bad. Because there are some truly fantastic/gorgeous/unique models with lots of personality who I wouldn’t mind seeing more of. I miss Amazonian gals like Eugenia Volodina and Adriana Lima on the runway. There are some girls working at the moment who are definitely more curvaceous than Coco, though (Dimitrovska and Stojiljkovic are way bigger boned than she is). So, I really think it is the whole “let’s find the next big thing… moving on…” syndrome that fashion has going is what is leading to Coco’s lack of work.
na todays skinny is too skinny. compared to models in the sixtees, today they are so much thinner it hurts. and they keep getting younger every decade. 12 to 15 year olds this is ridicule. but there are complexe reasons why this is so…
Cat: what your husband said was not nice. You obviously look hot now.
THANK YOU Coco for finally speaking out against all the pressure and insanity. I was a runway model with Elite for many years, and I’m telling you that most of the girls were anorexic or bulimic once they got past the age of 14, because it was impossible to maintain that insane skinniness when they started to become WOMEN instead of girls.
I left before I developed an eating disorder (or an addiction to the free drugs which also can make you stay skinny… another method) and got my college degree and then my doctorate. And I have never regretted that decision! Go Coco! Tell them how it is!
Young women are starving themselves to fit into clothes that wouldn’t fit an average 11 year-old..considering the height needed to model – no wonder the modeling world is filled with young women with eating disorders and drug addictions. A healthy person is not considered desirable to the modeling world? Bull crap..I think Coco is delightful, obviously not a mindless mannequin.
@Cat- Anyone who thinks a size 4 is fat for an adult woman (let alone one who had given birth 4 months previously) needs to get his head out of his obnoxious ass.
Do you live in a mansion? Do you have maids? Nannies? Chefs? Assistants? Trainers? Time to recover from plastic surgery? Someone to care for that newborn round the clock while you do? Tons of dough to pay for it all? Until he can provide all this so you can be a two, HE is the inadequate one
. Caring for a newborn baby while recovering is grueling. You can always tell which stars are taking care of their own infant and who isn’t. Don’t believe the crap they feed you in the magazines. No one ever admits, well, I needed to get back into shape as soon as possible, so I worked out constantly, had surgery and am wearing a bikini two months later, while my nannies did the night feedings, walked the floors when baby cried, and stayed with the baby all day long. Because that is what it takes. Not one workout a day or so.
Size FOUR!?!
Wow! She better not try to fly on Southwest Airlines until she slims down a bit!
Cat I am sorry. You look absolutely stunning in your photos and I think that you look beautiful:)
My boyfriend is sitting next to me on the couch and when I showed him your picture he muttered something along the lines of “wow she’s a MILF babe”. Haha! We both think you look great.
You need to tell your man to wake up to himself, maybe he should grow a tumor the size of a watermelon in his gut for 9 months, squeeze it out his asshole and then look shapely in 4 months time eh? Don’t waste time on someone who will only put you down.
I am a size 16/18 now and my boyfriend still wolf whistles when I walk around in a teeshirt and underwear. He gives me such a boost of self esteem that I walk around with a permenant glow on my face.
The reason that celebrities look so good straight after their birth is the fact that they have a c-section with a tummy tuck and lyposuction afterwards. Its like a McDonalds meal deal.
Now back onto the topic. I think that Coco Rocha can say what she likes about the model industry but nothing anyone is going to say is going to stop these young girls from modelling. They can serve turkey sandwiches at the back of a modelling runway but if they dont eat it there is nothing you can do to make them eat.
The fashion industry is run by wrinkled old fag hags and gays. That is why they like skinny little boy bodies. It is what they are most attracted to.
Besides… as most men would say… they like a little cushin’ for the pushin’.
how can one be a size zero? it means you don’t exist.
I’m sorry “other Cat”. Internet hug in your direction! Sounds like you’re going through a lot.
Here we go again, another one complaining about models. There is a reason why runway models are choose from a young age because that’s when they are NATURALLY thin and very tall and that is what sets them apart from the rest. The older we get the more weight a person naturally puts on. Plus she has so many things that she won’t do that it makes it hard for fashion designers and companies to sign her on if she does not want to do the things they require, so they move to someone else who would give them less hassle.
Having a long, successful modeling career is unreliable for anyone in that industry, one minute you get plenty of work then the next minute it dries up, it has a short lifespan just like an actor’s and just like an athlete’s.
Cat, that is absolutely not okay in ANY way, for your husband to insult your weight. I don’t mean to offend, but I’d like to punch his stupid shallow lights out.
“How can one be a size zero? it means you don’t exist.”
Weird, eh? When I lived in America I wore a size 6, then I got back to Australia and wore a size 10-12 again. Felt really skinny there for awhile. 🙂
@CB totally agree w/all your comments, esp. that Cat’s hubs behavior is NOT OK.
It’s never acceptable to beat down someone else’s self-esteem. Esp. someone who ostensibly vowed to love & cherish you, etc. (general wedding vow stuff)
I’m glad Cat posted her comment; hopefully we can be a support somehow.
danielle-
I am a size 0 and am 28. I am perfectly healthy, and I don’t have an eating disorder. I would not say (and do not think) that anyone over, say, a size 10 is a gross eatbeast who can’t put the fork down, and anyone who did would be ripped a new asshole, but it’s perfectly OK to call thinner people sick, unhealthy, anorexic and nasty…and nobody bats an eye. If you don’t like people judging you on your weight, then don’t freaking turn around and do the same damn thing to others! Maybe if everyone could just accept that people come in different sizes and some arbitrary number does not make you better than anyone else, then we could get over this asinine argument that we have to have EVERY SINGLE TIME anything about weight is posted. Duh.
I understand that the fashion industry needs to set a standard size and height because you can’t expect all the designers to make different sample sizes for all these different body types. Tall and thin was the standard set for a reason, -because the clothes draped better and you pay attention to the fabric. Not necessarily does that body type look better in all clothes, but it’s easier to deal with. // It makes sense to me. So , I’m not totally for, using bigger models in fashion..
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Seeing a healthier looking body type would be good, though. It is true, that there are too many models that look anorexic /unhealthy, these days and that is setting a very bad standard. They should just go back to being slim not anorexic. I’m glad Coco is speaking out about that issue. Overall though,, I think we should leave it to the actresses /Hollywood to promote different body types of women that are beautiful whether they are curvy, athletic, skinny, , robusk, big boned, thin, etc.. and leave models to do what they originally are meant for.
I’m also glad that Kaiser pointed out that there aren’t enough older models. There should be more of them. That’s the most depressing part of the fashion industry to me. That a model of 23 is considered too old. I think that should upset women just as much as anorexic models do. Because that is sending a bad message to women. That somehow, you’re no longer as beautiful after the age of 23. . Women can look beautiful for a much longer time span than that, if not more so. Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington still look great, but why not find some new mature faces to look at and prove physical beauty comes in all ages?
Looking like a someone who was just released from a concentration camp is not healthy and it’s not attractive. Some of those Vogue models are so skinny they make the clothes look ugly just by wearing them.
And ITA with the other posters that Cat’s husband needs a good kick in the cojones to straighten him out.
Zebra Hat – a little defensive are you? Read the post again. I did not say eating disorder, and I’m sorry if I offended anyone who has an eating disorder.
I’m so glad this stuff is starting to slowly trickle through to the masses… let’s show these bastards that they don’t set the standard for beauty.. WE DO!!
danielle-
I am not any more defensive than any larger woman would be if someone was insulting their weight/clothing size. You said that anyone who is not an adolescent and is a size 0 is not healthy, which IMPLIES an eating disorder. Let me post this one more time, and read very carefully this time so you don’t completely miss the point again…IF YOU DON’T LIKE BEING JUDGED BASED ON YOUR CLOTHING SIZE, THEN DO NOT DO IT TO OTHERS. Size 0, size 20, who the hell cares? One size is not superior to another, and it is the height of hypocrisy to complain about how mean people are to larger women then turn right around and insult others based on their size. If people want others to be tolerant and accepting of them being a size whatever, then maybe they could set a good example by being tolerant of us nasty anorexic sickly twigs? It’s a two-way street. Once again, WHY IS THIS SO F*CKING HARD TO COMPREHEND??
Well said to the commentor up above. I’m 26 and a size 0 too. I carry my weight pretty well, I have hips and far from a flat a$$. People are so concerned w/ the influence of the media on girl’s/women’s bodies, but really the major prob this country is facing is obesity, which has reached epidemic proportions.
Size 4 is fat ? Are we saying that ? I feel sorry for our society and worry for the next generation.
My sister is naturally a UK size zero (-2 in the US) and isn’t that small. She is a 33, 22, 33 and fits into a vintage UK size 8 (US 6). She is 5ft 6 and eats and exercises healthily.
I on the other hand am overweight and a UK size 12 (36, 31, 40)…I’m not muscular nor an athlete so am actively working to lose size, as I think due to vanity sizing etc more of us are accepting being a larger size than we should.
Size zero now was size 8 in the fifties. So yeah we have def fattened up as a nation