Isabelle Caro, a French actress and model, whose emaciated image is a shock Italian ad campaign, has died at the age of 28.
In later interviews, Caro said she weighed about 59 pounds when the photos were taken in 2007, by Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani.
The campaign gained Caro widespread attention in media in countries around Europe and in the United States, and she spoke out often about her anorexia, her efforts to recover, and the menace of eating disorders on the fashion industry.
Caro, who had reportedly struggled with anorexia since the age of 13, wrote a book published in France in 2008 titled, "The Little Girl Who Didn't Want to Get Fat".
The campaign featuring a skeletal Caro wasn't without controversy, however, with many anorexia support groups claiming that the attention did a disservice to those who suffer from it. Caro's image did appear on many pro-ana (pro anorexia) sites.
Will This Change Anything?
One would hope that a tragedy such as this would send shock waves through the industry and jar it into some meaningful action. Despite tragedies and other shock campaigns, however, it doesn't appear that much has changed.
The 2006 anorexia-linked death of the Brazilian model, prompted efforts throughout the international fashion industry to address the health repercussions of using ultra-thin models, but no binding measures ensued.
French fashion industry representatives signed a government-backed charter in 2008, pledging not to encourage eating disorders, and to promote healthy body images by using "a diversity of body representations," and not showing "images of people that could help promote a model of extreme thinness."
Industry executives the world over have refused to cooperate.
Writing about this has made me feel truly sad. Making wholesale changes to an industry steeped in a culture of bone-thin will not come overnight, but one can only hope that tragic situations like this will change some minds.
What are your thoughts on the situation?
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