Model figure
A slim, proportioned physique associated with fashion models and often presented as an ideal in fashion imagery.
Beauty ideal: A culturally valued standard of physical attractiveness. The model figure is one influential body shape elevated within changing standards of beauty.
Eating disorder: A mental health condition involving persistent disturbances in eating or related behaviors. Pressure to approach an idealized thin physique can be one factor in disordered eating.
Fashion photography: Photography that presents clothing, accessories, and fashion-related styles. Its posing, lighting, and retouching can make the model figure appear especially desirable.
Heroin chic: A 1990s fashion aesthetic marked by pale styling, disheveled appearance, and extreme thinness. It is a particularly stark fashion expression of the slim model ideal.
Fashion model diversity: The inclusion of models with varied body sizes, ages, abilities, and backgrounds. It asks whether fashion can represent bodies beyond its traditional slim ideal.
Body image: A person’s perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about their own body. Repeated exposure to model imagery can influence how people evaluate their bodies.
Anorexia nervosa: An eating disorder characterized by restriction, intense fear of weight gain, and disturbed body experience. It shows how pursuit of extreme thinness can become a serious clinical condition.
Model casting: The selection of performers or models for a production, campaign, or runway show. Casting choices translate preferred body proportions into the faces and figures shown publicly.
Hourglass figure: A body shape characterized by a relatively narrow waist and fuller bust and hips. It contrasts with the straighter proportions often favored in high-fashion modeling.
Body image and social media: The study of how social platforms relate to perceptions and evaluations of physical appearance. Online fashion imagery extends debates about exposure, comparison, and the model figure.