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Isabelle Caro - Nolita
In a controversial move, the Italian fashion company Flash & Partners is displaying a photograph of an anorexic woman, taken by Oliviero Toscani, for its Nolita label. The image is being shown on billboards and in newspapers across Italy to coincide with Milan fashion Week.
The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of anorexia in the fashion industry and show it is a serious illness. The campaign is backed by the Italian Ministry for Health.
The photograph is of a naked, clearly emaciated 27-year-old French woman, named Isabelle Caro, and includes the statement ‘No Anorexia’. Isabelle is a long-time anorexia sufferer, reportedly weighing only 31kg (4st 12lb).
A quote from Toscani appearing in a press release on the Nolita website says: “I’ve been looking into the problem of anorexia for years. Who’s responsible? Communication in general? Television? Fashion? So it’s very interesting that in the end a fashion company has understood the importance of the problem, and with full awareness has found the coverage to take the risk that this campaign involves”.
Maybe for the general public this campaign will raise awareness and highlight the problem, but for anorexia sufferers along with others who have eating problems, this type of image being exposed so accessibly and publicly can cause even more problems. Photographs such as these are known as ‘triggers’ for anorexia sufferers, and can actually inspire people to want to become even smaller.
There’s no doubt this shocking campaign is stirring up a lot of publicity for Nolita, but is it the right kind? Rather than have a role to play in the very real fight against anorexia, is it going to do little more than draw vast amounts of attention to the fashion label?