udor wrote:

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Originally posted on February 11, 2006, revised on January 24, 2007

Since this question seems constantly to come up, I did some extra shots at this current Fashion Week (Fall 2006 Collection) here in New York City (with the purpose of doing an informative thread on my own... soon... but here's the "preview").

The girl in image 1 and 2 is NOT a model, she's one of the finalist designers for "Project Runway", I shot the show on Friday morning... and thought that this is an excellent example for showing the visual effect of "short models" mixed with tall, high fashion models.

The first shows her alone, she's is somewhere around 5'2" and  has actually a pretty face.

The second image shows her walking behind her models, wearing her designs... this shows how funny it would look like if you put a short model into the mix.

The third image is from the show of the designer Chado Ralph Rucci. I shot this image for the purpose of demonstrating the size of the showrooms at major fashion shows... and why very tall models are mandatory, so that the audience far away are able to see the model and the garment she's presenting.

There are actually a few more rows... but I would have cut out the model... and it was necessary for me to demonstrate the room and the model.

In short (pun unintended ), there is a very practical reason WHY runway models have to be tall!

Agencies like to sign models that are versatile and can be used for many different applications..., the more a model is limited (height in this case), the more is the earning capacity limited for the agencies.

It all boils down to economics!

Short "model", finalist of Project Runway, could "pass on her own, if a tad slimmer, but(!)...



... here is the "short model" in comparison to regular runway models... looks funny, doesn't it?!



Putting height and major fashion show in perspective... Would the garment on a five foot model be seen by the fashionistas in the remote seats?

You showed at a picture fat and not formed short model in a jeans and a sweater close to tall and skinny tall models in a beautiful dresses. What if you put all range of short models, who are skinny and have perfect figure? They will be visible to any spectators as we talk about maximum 10 inches difference. This can not influent to how visible the models can be, this is not a feet difference. We had local runway in Turkey with short models and there  were a lot of people -everything were visible. More than that, short women are mostly better shaped and look more perfect, have more beautiful and esthetic knees, waists and all body parts, more sweet faces than tall. So this have to be some other reason of why models have to be tall, not because they look not visible, as this is non-sense and visible lie. I am not talking about ridiculous short, but you will never see in a photo how tall is the model if she has the same parametres. For example look at my modelling photos people mostly think that I am tall, who didn't see me in real life, but I am short.

Viktoryia Malkova wrote:
You showed at a picture fat and not formed short model in a jeans and a sweater close to tall and skinny tall models in a beautiful dresses. What if you put all range of short models, who are skinny and have perfect figure? They will be visible to any spectators as we talk about maximum 10 inches difference. This can not influent to how visible the models can be, this is not a feet difference. We had local runway in Turkey with short models and there  were a lot of people -everything were visible. More than that, short women are mostly better shaped and look more perfect, have more beautiful and esthetic knees, waists and all body parts, more sweet faces than tall. So this have to be some other reason of why models have to be tall, not because they look not visible, as this is non-sense and visible lie. I am not talking about ridiculous short, but you will never see in a photo how tall is the model if she has the same parametres. For example look at my modelling photos people mostly think that I am tall, who didn't see me in real life, but I am short.

Visibility is not the only parameter, of course...

I am not certain if I want to get into a long explanation of how designers at the big fashion show produce their dresses, which are unique pieces and have to be interchangeable between models... having different height of models, with different body types mixed all in, can produce a nightmare to the designer in production of those individual pieces.

Your fashion show in Turkey might have been really nice, and you have a lot of smaller fashionshows in the States and all over the world where emerging designers, do not work with super expensive garments, creating specific clothing for the runway for the specific model.

If garments are sloppy, ill fitting on a model and she walks the runway...

You know... I can't do this.

I wish you all the best in your runway modeling career... and when you come to NYC, walk at fashion week, please send me a message and let me know for which designer you are walking, and if I cover that show... I will take extra images for you!

Btw., to state that short women are overall more beautiful, with better bodies and skin...

                                                        ...

Kaitlin Lara wrote:

Because no one wants to buy clothes from ugly people. Kind of awful...but very true.

Ugly?? Yikes. Spoken like someone who may want to seek help. In what world would anyone be considered ugly fo merely having a healthy BMI? Im your height, a size 3 and somehow 22lbs heavier and still about 15 lbs under my ideal weight (for health) and do not have such fanatical views. If beauty really is so skin deep for you, enjoy it while it lasts, bc I dont know anyone my height who could survive at a 2 digit weight. Some would call THAT 'ugly. . .

Ararity wrote:

Ugly?? Yikes. Spoken like someone who may want to seek help. In what world would anyone be considered ugly fo merely having a healthy BMI? Im your height, a size 3 and somehow 22lbs heavier and still about 15 lbs under my ideal weight (for health) and do not have such fanatical views. If beauty really is so skin deep for you, enjoy it while it lasts, bc I dont know anyone my height who could survive at a 2 digit weight. Some would call THAT 'ugly. . .

Hmm... thread is one month short of being five years since the last post. Zombie thread lives again!?!?!
The MM member you are addressing last logged on a year and a half ago. If the trend continues you may get an reply in another year and a half perhaps.

No rules against it but seems a bit futile, no? Cheers.