The problem of the shaping of the fashion industry.

Fashion stylist named Grace Woodward has worked for several known clients including the X Factor, Agent Provocateur and Britain`s next top model. In the article Woodward talks about how she never felt like she belonged, even though she loves clothes, not feeling like she is thin enough.

I found this interesting as Woodward`s story shows the other side of the fashion industry, not just as it appears. The fashion industry offers glamour, adventure and excitement for those who are willing. 

However, it can get messy as there are many pressures and expectations that come about that not many talk about, maybe because it might jeopardize their career. This not only involves those who are actually in it, but also their followers, the people they influence, us.

The naked truth: the Instagram post that changed everything for Woodward.

Fashion is supposed to help us express ourselves and help us feel powerful and confident in our body, not the body we think is fit. This results in diseases such as anorexia which are serious problems and can lead to death, all because some think that they are not thin enough to be considered pretty like all the influencers online. Images can be deceiving, and are not a reflection of what is truly going on in one`s life. Even some that are in the industry themselves, models for example, are the bodies they have they ones they want or the one their managers make them have, what do they go through and are they really happy and healthy?

In fact, Woodward talks about the unhealthy relationship she has always had with her body, which led her to start a project she calls `Body of Work`. She remembers how she compared her body to others while at the beach, struggling with making her mind like her body. She says her project is an apology to women, saying: 

I’ve starved myself, taken diet pills, been 7st. And while there are pockets of brilliance in fashion, in TV it’s still only tits and teeth, and women are there to bring the pretty. Female presenters still have to do fitness videos and shrink themselves and can’t possibly have an angry opinion about something. With my apology, I’m saying: ‘I think there’s another way. You don’t have to control yourself, or constantly smile. Things need to get messy and we need to all be in it together.

I think there are others like Woodward who question the industry and I think it is important that like Woodward, they share their experiences and bring light to these issues. Fashion is not the problem, it’s the shape of the industry that needs to change.