WUNRN
Women's Feature Service
Shannon Murray, the differently-abled model-actress who is
the face of the British high street retailer, Debenhams this Fall.
(Courtesy: Debenhams\WFS)
By Barbara Lewis
"I'm really excited. There are over 10
million disabled people living in the
The choice of
A pilot campaign featuring Murray, who was
paralysed by a diving accident when she was 14, drew "some of the most
responsive and positive feedback" the retailer had had, a Debenhams
statement said, prompting it to roll out nationwide advertisements from the
start of September. How to Look Good Naked's presenter, Gok Wan, a stylist and
inclusivity campaigner, was effusive in his praise. "After months and
months of hard work, this is some of the best imagery I have seen on the
British high street...ever," he said, adding, "It is so inclusive and
fabulous! This, for me, is bigger than anything else I have ever personally
worked on, and I have never been so proud in my entire life."
Debenhams has said this is just the start
and it called on its competitors to follow its lead. It also said the
advertisements were a natural sequel to campaigns earlier this year that
included using swimsuit models, who had not been airbrushed, and size 16
mannequins.
Although it has taken years for a
breakthrough for the differently-abled, the acknowledgement of a need for
inclusivity is gaining ground, even if one of the reasons could be hard-headed
commercial logic. As
Controversy about how thin or fat models
should be could ultimately prove as difficult an issue to quell in a nation
where obesity is a serious health issue and anorexia is also significant.
According to figures from the British Nutrition Foundation, 24.1 per cent of
the male population is obese and 24.9 per cent of women, while 1.6 per cent of
men and two per cent of women are underweight.
The Foundation's Dr Elisabeth Weichselbaum
emphasised the risks associated with both extremes. "A healthy weight is
the range of weight, which is associated with the lowest risk of developing
various health problems. Being a healthy weight, however, does not always
correspond to what people perceive as being their ideal weight," she said.
The greatest fashion pressure is still to
be too thin and the success of Crystal Renn, a U.S.-born "plus size"
model, who has appeared in campaigns for designer brands, such as Dolce &
Gabbana, is an exception. Renn became "plus size" after abandoning
attempts to drastically reduce her natural body weight, narrated in her memoir,
'Hungry'. In the fashion world, plus size equates to anything over size 12 - which
is normal for many in the population and is very gradually gaining acceptance
in the fashion world.
She has chosen her words with caution, but
Renn observes there have already been shifts in what is considered beautiful.
"I believe there is a cycle to everything - Wall Street, the housing
market, and modelling, too. Back in the Victorian days, it was all about a full
figure, in the '50s, it was about the boobs, in the '80s it was shoulders and
in the '90s it was waifs," she has said. "It can only go up from
here."
Fashion photographer Corinne Day - who
helped to launch British superwaif Kate Moss - died at the end of August, aged
only 48 after a long illness following a brain tumour. Day's death prompted
soul-searching into the superficiality of the fashion world and the obituary
notices hailed her role in seeking out inner beauty and emphasising the real
over the glamorous. Her photographs dared to portray models with acne, for
instance, and her cover shot for influential fashion magazine 'The Face' - that
kicked off Moss's career focused - on a cheeky, unsophisticated, good-time-girl
grin, rather than a sultry pout, while she wore a native Indian head-dress over
straggly hair.
If Moss's appeal is obvious now, that is at
least in part because Day saw beyond the fashion tyranny of the times.
Admittedly Moss was thin, but she also had an ordinariness that was not
fashionable until seen through Day's lens. Former editor of 'The Face', Sheryl
Garratt credits Day with "changing our perceptions". "Glamour never
interested her, so rather than papering over the cracks, she focused on them.
In the process, she pioneered a new kind of imperfect beauty," Garratt
wrote of Day just after her funeral in early September.
The fashion world needs more risk-taking
photographers and more chain stores to follow Debenhams' lead.