Anorexia Campaign to run during Fashion Week in Milan

The Nolita anti-anorexia ad campaign has been planned to coincide with Milan's fashion week. In 1992, photographer Oliviero Toscani caused controversy around the world with his pictures of a man dying of AIDS. This image was part of a Benetton campaign. Now he has struck again with an image of Isabelle Caro from France. She is 27 years old and has been suffering from the anorexia for over 15 years. Italy's ministry of health fully supports the campaign as they wish to "promote responsibility towards the problem of anorexia." (Health Minister Livia Turco). Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana also praised the ad. They are glad that finally the disease is being shown as a psychiatric problem and not just the influence of fashion.
Many who study the disease and work with people suffering from anerexia feel that the ad could do more harm than good in some cases. They feel it is too crude and may even evoke envy in the eyes of other anerexic women who might strive to lose even more wieght. The problem of anorexia in the fashion industry has been in the spotlight since a 21-year-old Brazilian model died from the eating disorder in 2006. Girls that were considered too thin were not allowed to work on the catwalk during Madrid fashion week. Now in Milan models must carry medical certificates to prove that they are not suffering from the disease.
Though it cannot be denied that the fashion industry has a lot to do with the increasing problem of anerexia running the campaign right during fashion week does seem to point fingers. There are a lot of mixed feelings about the ad campaign and the crudeness of the image. The disease is an awful one and it affects many men and women but there is a chance that this campaign could create more gasping than awareness. In the end they've gotten everyone's attention, which essentially is the desired result.