NYFW v.s Body Empowerment: How Influencers are Breaking the Body Image Stigma
Breaking body image stigmas one Instagram post at a time!
Some would say that New York Fashion Week is the event of a lifetime, others would just shrug their shoulders and go about their lives as if this week-long fashion phenomenon never took place. But to those that will do anything for the love of luxury, it’s a time where it is absolutely necessary to prep weeks or even months in advance to ensure you look your absolute best.
It is a week that not only embodies the unhealthy pressures of status and self-confidence but one that showcases the dark side of the fashion world.
one influencer at a time
Source: Instagram
Hannah Bronfman is a celebrity health and wellness expert, influencer, and native New Yorker that is trying to break the ‘curse’ of NYFW. This curse she speaks of is that many other influencers and women, in general, try to portray the same body image as the runway models.
On September 11th, 2022—Hannah Bronfman shared a post via Instagram on “the pressures that women feel to look good all the time.”
Bronfman preaches to showcase “not your regular selfie,” and not your regular angles either. Posted on her Instagram are uncut, unedited selfies which aim to embrace the normality of being happy in your own skin.
In hopes of getting the momentum flowing and conversations starting, Bronfman created a collage of different mirror selfies to show her following base that Instagram is never what it truly seems.
Source: Instagram
She captioned the post, “Sunday night real talk—fashion week has me thinking a lot about comparison, body image, and the pressure that women feel to look good all the time. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t spent hours in glam chairs, fittings, facials, and lymphatic drainage in prep for NYFW I wanted to share these photos to show the power of knowing your angles and to remind all you beautiful ladies that not everything we see on the gram is real life!”
how can we keep this conversation flowing throughout the industry?
Creating a Community
Communication is key! Many of her followers took to the comments to display their gratitude towards Bronfman for being so raw online. Let’s take a look at some of the responses she got.
The feedback from different fashion stylists and influencers:
“Everyone needs this from the most followed to one with no followers”
— @Zerinaakers
While another commented:
“It can be hard to not compare yourself nowadays but these little reminders are always nice”
— @inspiredby_jazz
Source: Instagram
Inclusivity
This transition towards inclusivity gives us a small look into the high hopes of what we can expect in the fight for a healthier dynamic of NYFW. There are some major names that have made changes to bring inclusivity into their shows.
Victoria Secret, for example, has changed their range of models.
Source: NY Times
The iconic VS wings filled with fluttery confections of glitter, rhinestones, and feathers that weighed almost 30 pounds on women that had a mean body mass of just 16.61 no longer have to withhold the mindset that “beauty is pain.”
Martin Waters, the former head of Victoria’s Secret’s international business, who was appointed chief executive of the brand in February, says “we needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.”
Rachel Rodgers, an associate professor in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, investigates sociocultural influences on body stigmas and eating disorders. In a paper that was published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders in early 2022, she and her colleagues created a survey to assess the prevalence of disordered eating behaviors among professional models during NYFW in 2017.
Rachel Rodger Professor of Bouvé College of Health Sciences
Source: North Eastern College
The results gathered were unspoken of and extremely health threatening. According to Rodgers’ survey: 85 models had a BMI of just 17.41, which is considered severely underweight. Despite being underweight, 62% of the models said their agencies, casting agents, and other industry representatives had asked them to lose more weight or change their shape. 69% were told to “work out and tone up,” and 54% were warned that their agencies would no longer represent them if they didn’t meet the proper requirements.
Despite Hannah Bronfman sitting at the hottest fashion shows and events this season including Michael Kors, Bloomingdales 150th, Bazaar ICONS, and Carolina Herrera, she is still on the quest to fight body shaming and the social pressures that come along with that. Many of her current looks are inspired by body empowerment and making a change in fashion.
We live in a world where vanity is more important than self-love and respect. The fashion industry has historically proven over time that it solely perpetuates unhealthy sexiest grandeur. Next time you feel the need to compare yourself to a figment of your imagination ask yourself: What are your forms of self-love and respect? How will you stay there or get there? And lastly, Are you genuinely happy and healthy?
How do you feel about Bronfman’s message? Leave a comment down below.