cfda health initiative seminar

555 WEST 25TH ST, 6TH FL NEW YORK, NY 10001 TEL 212.226.0080 ext 4 FAX 212.226.7711 dnamodels.com

CFDA HeAltH InItIAtIve SemInAr

DAte: monDAy, FebruAry 7tH 2011tIme: 3:00 pm

loCAtIon: DnA moDel mAnAgement


The Council of Fashion Designers of America, the CFDA, is a not for profit organization founded in 1962 made up of over 350 of America’s leading fashion and accessory designers. The CFDA is dedicated to advancing the status of fashion design-ers and the fashion industry as a whole. Designer Diane Von Furstenberg is the current President of the CFDA and members of the board include such prominent designers as Oscar de La Renta, Ralph Lauren, and Narciso Rodriguez among others. Ste-ven Kolb serves as the CFDA’s Executive Director. In January 2007 the CFDA formed a Health Initiative to address a concern in fashion: whether some models are unhealthily thin and what could be done in such cases. Working in partnership with the fashion industry (model agencies, designers, casting directors, etc.), medical experts, nutritionists and fitness train-ers, the CFDA formed a committee to promote wellness and a healthy work environment for models. Natalia Vodianova spoke at the first event of the CFDA Health Initiative in February 2007 sharing her personal experiences and recommendations to foster a healthy environment. Recom-mendations of this initial panel included: educating the fashion industry about early signs of eating disorders, not hiring models under the age of 16 and not allowing those under the age of 18 to work past midnight, as well as supplying healthy food backstage. A copy of these health guidelines, re-distributed to the fashion industry twice annually just prior to the New York fashion shows, is attached. In March of 2010 Natalia was invited to speak at the Harris Forum at Harvard University alongside Vogue Editor-in

Chief- Anna Wintour and American Fashion Designer Michael Kors. The event, “Health Matters: Weight and Wellness in the Fashion World” was conceived by Dr. David Herzog, founder of the Eating Disorder Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital. Doutzen Kroes spoke at a February 2010 panel entitled “The Beauty of Health: Resizing the Sample Size” aimed at address-ing the issue of small sample sizes which perpetuated unrealistic expectations of models body size and increasingly young models who are more likely to be able to fit in such a size. Doutzen Kroes spoke at the event and shared her experiences as a model who, having started full time in the fashion business at age 18, often found sample sizes unrealistic. Other events of the initiative have included a 2008 a panel titled “The Beauty of Health” which included model Coco Rocha, and meetings for specific segments of the fashion industry such as casting directors, model agencies, and fashion show producers. On Monday, February 7th dna will participate in a new venture, the CFDA Health Initiative Ambassador program. Renowned model Stella Tennant has graciously volunteered her time to share her insight and advice based on her own personal experi-ence. Alongside Stella and CFDA Executive Director Steven Kolb, Dr. David Herzog will also be available to offer his guidance and expertise as a health professional. The goal of this meeting is to provide a comfortable and open environment in which insights can be shared and questions can be asked. You should walk away with practical advice on how to not only survive but thrive during the whirlwind of Fashion Week and for the rest of your career.


pArtICIpAntS:- Steven Kolb

As Executive Director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Kolb oversees all operations and activities of the Ameri-can fashion industry’s preeminent designer trade association and affiliated charity. Membership consists of more than 350 of America’s leading apparel and accessories designers. His respon-sibilities include all member services, trade association activities, and philanthropic initiatives. He reports to and works directly with Board President Diane von Furstenberg and the board com-prised of 27 of America’s foremost designers.

- DoCtor DAvID Herzog

David B. Herzog, M.D. is Director of the Harris Center for Eat-ing Disorder Education and Advocacy at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Endowed Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Eating Disorders at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Herzog is an internationally renowned expert on eating disorders credited with over 250 publi cations and he is board certified in Pediatrics, General Psy chiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is the Prin cipal Investigator of a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded naturalistic longitudinal study of 246 women with anorexia and bulimia nervosa, which is now in its 23rd year. He has a longstanding collaboration with the Neuroendocrine Unit at MGH as part of a multidisciplinary research team, and is currently Co-Principal Investigator on an NIMH funded study investigating the effects of hormone treatment on women with anorexia nervosa. In 1981, Dr. Her zog founded the multidiscipli-nary Eating Disorders Unit in the MGH Department

of Psychiatry, and later founded the cross-institutional Harvard Eating Disorders Cen ter, now the Harris Center at MGH. Heav-ily involved in mental health advocacy, he founded the Eating Disorders Coalition in Washington D.C. and frequently appears in the press in his efforts to reduce the stigma of eating disorders and other mental health conditions. Dr. Herzog has received numerous honors and awards, including the Blanche F. Ittleson Award for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association, the Simon Wile Leadership Award and the Eating Disorders Scientific Achievement Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Meehan/Hartley Leadership Award for Public Service and/or Advocacy presented by the Academy of Eating Disorders in recognition of his tireless efforts to champion eating disorders as a national health policy issue.


AmbASSADor:- StellA tennAnt

From the beginning of her remarkable career, Stella Tennant has inspired and captivated from the pages of countless magazines and fashion campaigns. Raised on a sheep farm in northern England, Stella was an art student hoping to pursue a career as a sculptor be-fore she was discovered by the late Isabella Blow and shortly thereafter was photographed by the legendary Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue and the Versace campaign—despite a pierced septum, that she refused to remove. Meisel was inspired by the unsmiling six-foot reed thin patrician beauty and she immediately became one of his favorite muses.

Overnight, Stella became one of the most in demand models on the runways of Paris, London, New York and Milan, and found herself in constant demand for American, Italian, French and British Vogue, Numero, Bazaar, and W Magazine. Not only a favorite of designers, Stella became a favorite of not only Steven Meisel, but Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Irving Penn and Annie Leibo-vitz, among a host of the world’s top photographers. With the world of fashion buzzing about her, Stella did the unthinkable---she took time off to marry photographer, David Lasnet, and start a family. However, in 2001, Stella answered fashion’s call: first designing a knitwear line for Burberry and then appearing in the iconic brand’s advertising campaigns. Later that year, Karl Lagerfeld brought her back into the Chanel fold by shooting her for the 2002 Spring/Summer campaign.

Once based out of London and New York, today Stella, David and their four children call a farm in the Scottish countryside home where she engages in her passion for family, gardening and sculpture. Though Stella may have moved away from the fashion indus-try’s bright lights, she remains one of its brightest stars with recent appearances in campaigns for Celine, Balenciaga and Chanel.


guIDelIneS: - Educate the industry to identify the early warning signs in an individual at risk of developing an eating disorder.

- Encourage models who may have an eating disorder to seek professional help in order to continue modeling. And models who are receiving professional help for an eating disorder should not continue modeling without that professional’s approval.

- Develop workshops for the industry (including models and their families) on the nature of eating disorders, how they arise, how we identify and treat them, and complications if they areuntreated.

- Support the well-being of younger individuals by not hiring models under the age of sixteen for runway shows; not allowing models under the age of eighteen to work past midnight at fit-tings or shoots; and providing regular breaks and rest.

- Supply healthy meals, snacks, and water backstage and at shoots and provide nutrition and fitness education.

- Promote a healthy backstage environment by raising the aware-ness of the impact of smokingand tobacco-related disease among women, ensuring a smoke-free environment, and address underage drinking by prohibiting alcohol.

The CFDA Health Initiative is about awareness, education, and safety, not policing. Although we do not require a specific body mass index to work, we do recommend that models receive regu-lar medical care to ensure their well-being.

The CFDA Health Initiative is committed to the notion of a healthy mind in a healthy body, and therecannot be one without the other. The industry is determined to foster a balanced approach tonutrition, recreation, exercise, work, and relationships.

For more information, contact info-cfda.com

Council of Fashion Designers of America Health Initiative Guidelines In January 2007, the CFDA formed a health initiative to address what has become a global fashion issue: the overwhelming concern about whether some models are unhealthily thin, and whether or not to impose restrictions in such cases. Designers share a respon-sibility to protect women, and very young girls in particular, within the business, sending the message that beauty is health. While some models are naturally tall and thin and their appearance is a result of many factors, including genetics, youth, nutritional food, and exercise, other models have or develop eating disorders. Although we cannot fully assume responsibility for an issue that is as complex as eating disorders and that occurs in many walks of life, the fashion industry can begin a campaign of awareness and create an atmos-phere that supports the well-being of these young women. Working in partnership with the fashion industry, medical experts, nutri-tionists, and fitness trainers, the CFDA formed a committee to propose a series of positive steps designed to promote wellness and a healthier working environment. We recognize that change will take time and are committed to industryspecific educational efforts, awareness programs, support systems, and evaluation and treatment options that advance our recommendations.

cfda health initiative seminar

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