New York Fashion Week may have just begun, but major changes are in place for the Paris iteration of the bi-annual fashion event. Kering and LVMH (who are the parent companies of Gucci, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and YSL) have created a new charter that bans the hiring of excessively thin models.

In 2015, France banned ultra-thin models by law stipulating that models needed a doctor’s note attesting to their health in regards to their age, weight and body shape, though the law glaringly did not include a minimum body mass index requirement. The new charter brought forth by the iconic fashion companies take the 2015 legislation further, committing their brands to banning models who are smaller than size 34 for women and 44 for men (for reference, a French size 34 is roughly equivalent to a size 0 in the US).

The CEO of Kering, Francois-Henri Pinault spoke of the decision, which goes into effect in advance of Paris Fashion Week later this month, in a statement to Reuters. “We hope to inspire the entire industry to follow suit, thus making a real difference in the working conditions of fashion models industry-wide,” he said.

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Additionally, the charter forbids the hiring of girls under the age of 16 to pose and work as adult models.

Ultimately, this important move by the fashion community could not only protect models working the industry from health risks caused by malnutrition, but also help reduce the encouragement of unhealthy body types. 

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