Just who are the outside experts the CFDA brought in to formulate its voluntary guidelines? Are they talented and trained professionals, or are they industry shills. The answer, sadly, is a little of both.
Let's consider David Kirsch, the panel's personal trainer. He was one of those who called for voluntary guidelines because, after all, there are naturally skinny girls who wanna walk the runway.
Who is David Kirsch? Well, he's a personal trainer with a private gym in Manhattan called the Madison Square Club. In 2004, NY Magazine called him one of America's priciest personal trainers. He works extensively with the fashion media. He's written three diet and exercise books in the past three years, and he even sells expensive diet supplements.
Kirsch has many endorsements on his website, like those from healthy celebrities like Heidi Klum and Liv Tyler. But more tellingly, he has endorsements from the editor in chief of Allure magazine, and another from an editor at Vogue. These are the very magazines that cover and promote him. My favorite endorsement, however, is from Naomia Campbell. She says:
"David Kirsch is a full-body experience. There's a connection between the body, mind and spirit."
Naomi Campbell has an estimated BMI of 16.5. The woman is crazy and crazy skinny. On the one hand, you could say that Kirsch has seen first hand what a BMI of 16.5 looks like and can assess whether or not it's healthy. On the other, we can look for ourselves at Naomi Campbell and understand how these apparent outsiders are really insiders.
Kirsch began his career as a lawyer, so he's clearly a smart guy who understands the concept of "conflict of interest." No corporate board would permit its outside directors to have these kinds of personal and financial ties, so it is disappointing that the CFDA would select "outside" experts who are so embedded in the fashion business. There are thousands of personal trainers in NYC. Surely, Vogue magazine and the CFDA could have found a trainer who wasn't so beholden to them. And perhaps found a trainer who doesn't believe that Naomi Campbell is perfectly healthy.
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