There’s a bit of buzz building over “plus-size” model Crystal Renn’s latest photographs for non-profit Fashion for Passion. HuffPo said she looked “shockingly svelte” and The Frisky headlined their post about the photos, “Crystal Renn, Full-Figured No More?”
It’s true, in this Nicholas Routzen-shot campaign, Renn does appear to look thinner. So we called up her agent at Ford to get the scoop. Has Renn, an outspoken critic of the modeling industry’s size-0 standard, dropped weight?
“She is still a 39-40 hip (she fluctuates like any woman), and a solid size 10,” says Gary Dakin, Renn’s agent. He’s sure because she was measured for a fitting just a few days ago following a shoot for French Vogue. “She has no urge [to lose weight].”
Dakin implied that Renn may be more toned because she’s gotten into hiking after a recent trip to Patagonia. But the bottom line is that she’s healthy.
“She’s an amazing model,” says Dakin. “She can make herself look bigger or smaller depending on what the client wants.”
At the crux of this thing is the media’s love for a good “size story” (not that we’re exempt, of course).
Why do we care? Why can’t Crysal Renn just be a gorgeous model instead of a plus-size model, or a plus-size model who is (gasp) too thin and maybe not plus-size anymore?
Renn has a loud voice in the industry, and hopefully she’ll continue to use it to shake off the labels attached to her and other models who aren’t sample size. But until then, we buzz.
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she has said in interviews that she is often photoshopped to look larger than she actually is.
The only reason Crystal became famous was because full-figured women saw in her a representative. She was nothing as a straight-size model, and now that she's becoming straight-size again, she's going back to being a nothing.
What she's doing is a raised middle finger to every girl or woman who ever felt empowered by her: “Thanks for making me popular, now f– you,” she's saying. “You should have been skinny all along.”
In fact, it's quite clear that this whole “skinnier” thing is just another Crystal Renn publicity stunt, because god forbid the world shouldn't talk about her for a while.
For a bit of perspective on this, check
http://onegirlnodiet.tumblr.com/
(no it's not my blog)
who covered the story yesterday before HuffPo picked it up.
Sorry, but there's no way those two pics are the same size. Maybe she's a 10 now, but…I'm not buying it.
a ten is not that big to begin with. and yes many plus size models travel to shoots with their own custom padding
Maybe she is l;ike me and loses and gains weight on a daily basis. Eat carb – gain weight. Skip dinner – lose weight. I had no idea it was a talent. Also agree, she looks better ” fuller” some girls just do
The reason Crystal gained so much momentum in the first place, was due to her plus size status, and now she's trying to conform to skinny standards, is that not deceiving? I never rated her in the first place and I most definitely don't rate her now. I don't think she's a role model in the slightest. She's clearly lost weight and no doubt will continue to lose weight.
I think this is an issue because of how vocal she has been about the modeling industry and what her battle with weight did to her. THAT is the problem.
Besides the fact that the photo shows signs of camera lens work and overexposure, this is a story made for the media glut age — “Gee, it looks like she lost weight! Let's come down on her in our next blog post, even though Ren at her largest *was never plus-sized* (the industry standard is size 16+) and we can't be bothered with contacting the photographer about how he took her picture. That ought to make her and her manager eat some Ho-Hos…”
A woman's weight fluctuates with the normal cycles of her life and seasons of the year, and Crystal is probably no different. But even if she worked on losing weight, she still looks healthy — but more importantly, probably no bigger than a fit model (usually size 8). And isn't that what we should celebrate? A model who is comfortable in her own skin and has her health — rather than celebrity — as her main concern?
Yesterday, everyone was shocked — shocked! — about Naomi Campbell's bald patches, but she has steadily been losing her hair for decades (due to weaves and diet) in order to portray an unrealistic view of beauty for women. And yet, very few people question the system that turns out Naomi Campbells like clockwork, and yet hardly notices the Crystal Rens — unless there is some manufactured scandal to be had.
who cares if she loses weight? if she does not become a “straight” size model again (zero, two, whatever), but still loses a little weight, then she would be what some people call a “normal” size. If she can get work as a normal size (which looks like she is from above pics..?) then that is a good step for the modeling industry..right? more normal size beautiful figured girls. and less exploitation, (as some call it), of the plus size models.
I love you Fashionista, but this pisses me off.
How many “news” outlets have posted this story?
First things first: Crystal Renn is gorgeous. Even for model standards, she’s stunning. And I know that part of the media attention is because of her eating disorder and the struggle it was for her to be okay with her weight, and it wouldn’t be a positive image to have a famously “plus size” model suddenly drop weight. Part of it may even be concern for her health and all but…
What pisses me off is not everyone fixating on a young models weight, but they ALL SAY THE SAME THING. “Oh, it sucks that this is a news story but it is, let’s perpetuate it even more!” Um, okay. The media is responsible for this becoming news, and if you’re going to report it, don’t be all apologetic about it and say how bad it is for the media to focus on it. These statements are almost self-congratulatory, like, “Hey, we WANTED to change things and make this a non-story, but we’re The Media and we can’t help it.”
It’s so stupid that it’s a story. It’s stupid that people care how much a model weighs. The only people who should care are the model and her agent. And nobody else. Not even if she has a history of eating disorders, not even if she’s a “plus size” model (in quotations because she’s really not big at all), not even if she’s a freaking bus, okay? Would you ask a stranger how much they weigh? No! Not even if they are ridiculously thin/fat – it’s none of your business. So why is it okay for strangers to fixate on this girl’s weight? I think it’s bizarre, and really irresponsible. Even for The Media.
Has anyone even thought of the likely reason? That the photo was *gasp* retouched?
Crystal Renn isn't a very large girl to begin with. That, coupled with the right angle, the right pose, and retouching to make her appear thinner are probably the culprit. I've made the thinnest girls even thinner (while smoothing out their jutting bones, of course) and it seems likely that the same was done here. Even if she did lose weight, her thighs would NOT lose enough weight for her thighs to get that skinny (in just a month.)
Don't you think you are contributing to the “manufactured scandal” by commenting?
And yet, you have the longest comment so far.
Really, it's not that serious so calm down or don't engage with the story…
…wow, there is nothing in here saying she's either trying to lose weight herself or encouraging others to do so. What YOU'RE saying is that someone with natural weight fluctuations and hobbies is by default triggering or selling out.
Doubly offensive is that she's famously recovering from an eating disorder, and people often gain more weight than is their body's natural weight average, then stabilize at a slightly lower weight, when eating normally again, due to their metabolism having been thrown into starvation mode — she very well may have not a ton of control over the fact that she at one point was heavier.
Can we not let a gorgeous, average woman model if she does it well?
Again, I wish there was a “dislike” button. Crystal Renn is a talented model, not a “nothing” as you say. Why be so nasty?
She looks great, regardless of size. At least she is not emaciated like she was as a straight size model. Leave her alone!
Catherine
http://www.lagrandedame.com
Crystal Renn doesn't have an obligation to be a role model. So no, she's not giving women everywhere the middle finger as you put it.
Was the little kid who told the emperor he had no clothes on when everyone else heaped praise upon his “high minded sartorial style” being rude?
How do you know she lost weight to conform to “skinny standards”? Maybe she just dropped the weight by working too much or hiking. a 10 is still very big by straight modeling standards.The standard is 0-4.
I did plus modeling and sometimes I would lose a bit or gain a bit. It happens.
she is beautiful whatever size she is. i only wish she didn't smoke
The only thing that bothers me about Crystal's weight loss is how sudden it is. She's had an eating disorder before where she starved herself to be the industry's ideal size, recovered, and was doing great as a plus size model, and is now almost back to where she was when she was starving. There is no way she's a size 10 in that picture. I've heard it quoted that she's a size 2 now. And she was definitely a size 12 when she appeared on the cover of Glamour last month. For her to lose that much weight that quickly is not healthy. I think she's gorgeous either way, but for her to be that skinny that fast is worrying.
What if she lost the weight naturally? Crystal Renn is a proponent of the Health at Every Size movement. It wouldn't make much sense for her to keep weight on if that's not where her body wants her to be.
How is size 10 a 'big' size anyway?
Size 10 is usually 150 pounds – at least that's how it works for me. I have hypothyroidism and other endo. issues, so my weight has fluctuated drastically through the years. And most people gain/lose a size by 10 pounds, so size 8 is usually 140, size 12 is 160, etc.
I guess she got the point…that if you wanna' be” bought ” you have to be skinny….and if you wanna' be “loved” you have to be fuller…
http://www.iscariotteh.wordpress.com
i love her!! a real woman!!
kiss from spain!
http://yourwaystyle.blogspot.com/
I completely agree with you; however, everything seems to have happened very rapidly. That is NOT healthy.
Completely depends on your height. What is “10″ for SR maybe not be for other people.
This is a link to the photographer, Nicholas Routzen’s blog about it, with video footage from the shoot as well as the photos in question, both the retouched and the un-retouched. Clearly he is very open about the entire experience of shooting with her, says she was a beautiful model to work with, and, in my opinion, she looks stunning (and healthy) in both the footage and all of the images.
http://nicholasroutzen.blogspot.com/2010/07/cry…
im 164 punds and im a size 6.