Major French Fashion Houses Pledge To Only Employ Models Over The Age of 18

Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen are among the leading fashion brands who have pledged to ban the working with models under the age 18. Kering group has made a commitment that the group’s Houses will only hire models aged over 18 to represent adults at their runway shows and advertising campaigns. The new policy which will be enforced starting with the fall/winter shows 2020/2021 next year was announced by Francois-Henri Pinault, the chairman and CEO of the Kering group this week at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit.

“As a global luxury group, we are conscious of the influence exerted on younger generations in particular by the images produced by our houses, We believe that we have a responsibility to put forward the best possible practices in the luxury sector and we hope to create a movement that will encourage others to follow suit.” Said Pinault in a press release

The decision comes as the fashion industry take more positive steps to adhere to more ethical standards. In 2017, Kering and in collaboration with luxury conglomerate LVMH -published a charter on models' well-being, which set the minimum working age at 16. It aimed to introduce a range of guidelines to safeguard the health and well-being of models, involving a commitment to work only with models in possession of a valid medical certificate certifying their good health; the banning of size 32 for women and size 34 for men from casting and the application of specific rules for the working conditions of models, such as access to a “reserved area” where they can change conveniently and the availability of food and drink that are suited to their dietary needs.

Last year, Condé Nast International the publishers of British Vogue, GQ, Glamour, Vanity Fair (among other titles) announced a new Code of Conduct “to safeguard the dignity and well-being”of all models who work with its brands with immediate effect.

This new step signals further industry progress and marks a reaffirmation by the luxury conglomerate group Kering to protect model welfare. The question is, will the rest of the fashion industry follow suit?

According to “Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs at Kering “The physiological and psychological maturity of models aged over 18 seems more appropriate to the rhythm and demands that are involved in this profession. We are also aware of the role-model element that images produced by our Houses can represent for certain groups of people,” declared Daveu.