Mischa Barton to replace 14-year-old model Monika Jagaciak as the face of Australian Fashion Week
Mischa Barton has replaced 14-year-old Polish model Monika Jagaciak as the new face of Australian Fashion Week. The teenage model, a cover girl of Harper’s Bazaar, was dropped as a response to the fashion industry’s decision do adopt a minimum age for models.
Officials initially rejected pressure from critics such as the editor of Vogue Australia, who voiced concern about the sexualisation of children.
Simon Lock, the founder of the event, insisted that Jagaciak had the support of her parents and would be chaperoned as she flew to Australia as part of an entourage of European models. “There’s been criticism of the industry in the past for promoting the Lolita syndrome, but that’s something we will not stand for,” he said. “The designers love these models as coat hangers for their clothes. They don’t want to exploit their sexuality in any way whatsoever.”
The uproar forced the organisers into an awkward retreat. They announced a minimum age to be set at 16 “in light of industry and community concern regarding the acceptable age for models”. [Source]
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Here are just a few examples from the Fashion Industry recently:
Tallulah Morton has done well within Fashion Modeling, she was actually first noted at age 11, began Fashion Modeling at age 13 and progressed from there. Camila Finn is another discovered at age 13. Georgia Frost a UK Fashion Model first seen at age 13 in London and now producing some fine Modeling work as is Daniela Cott, who has a real life rags to riches story when entering the world of fashion modeling aged 14 I believe. These are just some of the names that have been given massive spreads in the top glossies in recent times.
This begs the question, why so much fuss recently in Australia over Maddison Gabriel and Monika Jagaciak?
Double standards in the Ausie Media I think and possibly the top fashion glossies.
Strange how Vogue were first to complain on recent issues, it seems that everytime a 12! 13 or 14yo gains a success now in Modeling immediately the media mentions things such as anorexia and the influences of things that may or may not happen in connection with top fashion environments. Surely it was the top glossies who originally encoured the unrealistic wafer thin looks of the past wasn’t it? and if the backgrounds of top fashion events are really so bad, then surely they should be cleaning up their own acts rather than banning youngsters with aspirations from entering the industry?
In a world where Child Obesity and Kids going off the rails are real issues, we should be encouraging those with direction, enthusiasm and Talent interests, particularly if they are monitored and guided by caring Parents/guardians.
Note: Lolita Syndrome – Is a tag it seems used by newspaper reporters and should not be used in connection with young wannabe fashion models, I would question those that do!