In a call to action, Vogue has issued an addendum to its 2018 Global Vendor Code of Conduct, a response to numerous accounts of sexual harassment in the fashion industry.  In doing so, Condé Nast established provisions for safe working spaces.  Additionally, it addressed the age of models. “In recognition of the unique vulnerability of minors thrown into a career where they have little control and where abuse has been all too commonplace, the vendor code of conduct stipulates that no model under the age of eighteen will be photographed for editorial (unless he or she is the subject of an article, in which case the model will be both chaperoned and styled in an age-appropriate manner).”

In a new article, “Why the Fashion World Needs to Commit to an 18+ Modeling Standard, Vogue acknowledged that it partially created the environment of “making it routine for children—since that’s what they are—to be dressed and marketed as glamorous adults.,” citing Brooke Shields’ cover at the age of fourteen (above).  However, the publication states that it will no longer participate.  “No more: It’s not right for us, it’s not right for our readers, and it’s not right for the young models competing to appear in these pages. While we can’t rewrite the past, we can commit to a better future.”

The problem has been endemic in the fashion houses.  “It’s a numbers game,” says Chris Gay, co-CEO of Elite World Group, in the article. “Brands want 40, 50 girls in a show, leaving less opportunity for designers to spend time with each talent. There’s no time for long fittings. But you know who fits those tiny samples? … Teenagers—girls who haven’t finished growing yet.”