Return of the Hourglass Figure?

It's been about a week since this story hit the pixel presses, but it never fails to encourage me. :)

The most recent season of the UK's Channel Five reality contest, Make Me A Supermodel, did a lot to challenge people's stereotypes of what a model should be and how she (or he) should look. Because in the end, five skinny waifs of modern-modeling perfection were no match for Jen Hunter, the classically figured underdog for the show. Jen won the women's side, but first place went to male contestant Albert. Nonetheless, viewers made their opinion clear by voting Jen ahead of the only other female left, Marianne.

To most, the reasons behind the choice is clear--just take a look at that picture to the upper left. Jen is--obviously--the vivacious gal on the left, Marianne on the right, both modeling the same suit. As Jen said in an interview after the competition, "I am all curves and flesh, not skin and bone. Boys, who would you rather snuggle up to?(1)" Though she was criticized for having stocky legs, not meeting the usual physical standards of catwalk models, and not focusing seriously on maintaining a healthy diet and exercise, I'm sure most people would choose the girl with the cleavage and hips over the other girl with the... erm, sternum and ilium crests.

The fact that Hunter made it so far in the competition is really remarkably to me, and highly inspirational. She is by no means "standard model fair"; at 5'10", she weighs around 155lbs. (11 stone, as she says) and wears a UK size 12/US size 8. There is no way any health practitioner would say this 24 year old woman is overweight for her size, considering that she does maintain a normal healthy diet and gets exercise. Marianne (18 years old), however, had a BMI of 16.1--a fair bit lower than the show's "required minimum" of 18--and yet received constant praise for her wonderful body. Yet when modeling the same gold one-piece swimsuit as Jen, she can really make you question what is sexy about being so thin.

In an effort to coral the prevelance of eating disorders in modeling, many runway shows and even designers themselves are beginning to limit the size of participating models, usually using the BMI as an indicator of healthy lifestyles. Of course, some people are naturally thin. There are women out there who, no matter what they eat or do, can't ever seem to gain more than 5 or 10 pounds. And that is perfectly fine, if that's what your body is. In another interview, Hunter said, "I might be bigger than the fashion industry demands, but it's just not natural for me to be a size 10." With all this controversy around model sizes, seeing that a woman like Hunter can win a modeling competition is promising. Her success in this reality show could be a harbinger for things to come, perhaps a renaissance of the hourglass figure. This could be especially true considering the popularity of things like burlesque and vaudevillian performances.

Yes, there are some excellent points to having thin models. The sample clothes require less fabric to make, the model's innocuous body won't overwhelm the design, and you're more likely to find a replacement model with the same body shape. But that's not to say that fashion modeling can't also benefit from more "average" sizes. Jen Hunter was quoted as saying about the fashion industry, "Can you imagine if you worked with someone with a bit of shape how magnificent they can make an outfit look? Real women would think to themselves, 'yeah, I can wear that.'(2)" (You gotta admit, she made that plain gold swimsuit look fan-tas-tic.)

And her point is absolutely true. Sure, most designers who are showing their stuff on a runway are catering to society's elite, who will most likely be nearly as thin as the runway models. But obesity problems aside, what about the rest of the world, inhabited by women like Hunter who are not rail thin and don't have a problem with it or their health? Socialites and high-paid women can be curvaceous and still want to wear haute couture. A designer showcasing his or her clothes on a woman who is easier to relate to than your average model could have an unexpected increase in sales (and at least an increase in respect), as women see this and indeed visualize themselves in the clothes (as versus thinking "it looks good on her because she's thin").

I was sure that this glam goddess would have been picked up by at least a magazine or two, as surely someone would want a stunner like her for a great cover story about how curvy is the new hot bodytype. "Um, no, [...] I don't have an agent. I haven't been offered anything by the glossies. But I would never turn my back on what I said, I believe it with a passion. I'm glad I've got a bit of junk in my trunk.(2)" Watch the first few minutes of this video, from the finals of Make Me A Supermodel, and you can get a glimpse of just what a curvy woman's strut can bring to the catwalk. If you watch that and still question whether she belongs up there, you must be daft.

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(1) Original story by Daily Mail: Size 12 model branded "too fat" for competition link

(2) Follow-up by Daily Mail: Jen Hunter on body image

(3)Related article by CNN: Skinny models banned from catwalk