The fashion world is beset by controversy at present

London Fashion week hit by criticism

London Fashion week hit by criticism

By Ian Dun

The start of London Fashion Week today has been marred by criticism of the fashion industry from various groups.

Celebrities gathered around the opening of the event to campaign against sweatshop conditions in the third world.

Jo Wood, Jo Brand and Gael Garcia Bernal, who played Che Guevara in biopic ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’, are pushing for the fashion industry to pay more attention to the conditions where garments are made.

Celebrities campaign against sweatshops as London Fashion week kicks off

Meanwhile, experts from the Royal College of Psychiatrists have attacked the event for negatively affecting the way women feel about their bodies.

Launching a report on pro-easting disorder websites, Professor Schmidt, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Eating Disorders section, launched an attack on the fashion week.

“Pro-ana [pro-anorexia] websites normalise illness,” he said.

“In much the same way, the catwalks of international fashion events such as London Fashion Week can act as a showcase for underweight women.

“We are very concerned that the lack of medical checks for models at London Fashion Week, coupled with working in an environment where being underweight is considered the norm, prevents models with eating disorders from gaining insight into their condition.”

Demand for govt action on pro-anorexia websites

This is the 25th London Fashion Week since its inception.