Model Jordan Daniels says “skinny is back” and it's affecting the mental health of models
Yesterday, South African-born and New Zealand-raised model Jordan Daniels shared a TikTok humorously titled: ‘things during fashion week that give me anxiety’.
In the two-part video Daniels elaborated on a handful of stressors, both big and small, that a model can experience during fashion week.
The list included “hanging out with people socially outside of work” (relatable), “being over stimulated at a [runway] show”, and “having my period”.
But the item that punctuated Daniels’ long list of anxiety-inducers was the most concerning.
“What’s also been giving me anxiety lately is something that we can’t control,” she said as she applied her skin care. “[It’s] obsessive thoughts and comparing myself to other people.”
“Every time there’s a new season there are young girls that are coming into this, young girls that are prepubescent, and they’re so skinny and tiny,” she explained. “I’m looking at them, and I’m just like, ‘I remember when I used to look like that’, and I just don’t look like that anymore.”
“I’ve been seeing videos of people saying, ‘skinny is back’ — it is back,” she confirmed. “It’s terrifying for all of us, because now we also have to fit into the standard as well. It’s f***ed.”
Daniels wanting to use her platform to talk about the realities of her job and the modeling industry is a welcome contrast to workout routines or ‘what I eat in a day as a model’ videos.
But her video also highlights the alarming damage that trend-based diet and fashion culture can cause to the very people who represent the elite beauty ideal.
With AI digital avatars being used to model clothes in the digital landscape and ‘bold glam’ digital makeup filters that distort beauty beyond any attainable standard rising in popularity, it begs the question: if some of the most sought-after models in the fashion industry can’t even fit into the current beauty standard, who can?
It’s not just models dealing with self-scrutiny. Actor Lili Reinhart got real about body image in a candid confession to her fans too.
Main image credit: @jordandaniels_
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
