"Business should never be allowed to justify mean, thug ugly deals for any reason." - Ralph Steadman

Considering the amount that’s been written in the past week or so proclaiming that the day of the skinny model is over...and more womanly figures (and even, gasp, older models) are now in vogue...it’s a little surprising that very little has been said about a subject on the other end of the (pardon the expression) scale.

Yet shouldn’t we be equally, if not more, concerned about the allegations surrounding Prada’s Japanese stores; that a senior retail manager was asked to “eliminate” some 15 or so managerial staff because they were “old, fat, ugly, disgusting or not having the Prada look”? And that the manager herself, despite 18 years experience in the industry, was requested to change her hairstyle and lose weight in order to “fit in”.

If the catwalk is the shimmering dream, this is the stark reality; that knowledge and experience mean nothing without the ‘right’ look to go with them. As a woman, I’m enraged; more so that this could happen at a place that has a female designer at its helm. Despite all those words, we’re not more mature; we’re back in the playground, trying to be one of the popular girls and picking on those who aren’t.

The full story can be found here.

 
 
 
 

Post a Comment 3 comments:

  • Clara said...
    8:37 AM
    Hear, hear!

    I suppose my cynical side is showing, but I haven't been able to take seriously the recent "let's hear it for curvy girls" paean in style pages. It's smacked too much of issue-du-jour meant to attract attention, readership, and advertisers. Nevertheless, I'm all for more of this conversation.

    This is a hugely complex issue, and certainly not one that I have answers to. Adding to the complexity is that many of us (i.e., women) continue to buy -- literally and figuratively -- into the hype, even as (intellectually) we understand, appreciate, and even speak out against, the injustices.

    Sigh.

    Clara
  • CompassRose said...
    8:43 AM
    Well, Prada has already proven herself a repeat offender on this front. Remember how she had the extras at the Met's production of Attila all fired because she is apparently actually incapable of dressing anyone who isn't model-skinny? http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/curves_banned_dFuzryW3OZnmHR3YH9mgPN#ixzz0ZDGUhxTc
  • dust said...
    9:07 AM
    I do love Prada and I hope that this doesn't come from her office directly, because I'm sure she has a mirror.

Post a Comment

 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...