On the eve of the 2017 New York Fashion Week, two luxury fashion conglomerates announced Wednesday that they are joining forces to do away with harmful industry practices and standards that models have long endured on catwalks and at photoshoots.

Most notably, the fashion powerhouses, LVMH and Kering, who between them own Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Louis Vuitton and Dior, will stop hiring size 0 models.

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Under its new regulations, LVHM and Kering will also ban brands from employing girls under 16 to pose as adult models; limit models’ work hours; and require brands to ask agencies to ensure models meet school attendance obligations.

The new charter is dedicated to ensuring “the wellbeing of models.” Brands will be required to bring psychologists and therapists on set, and only work with models who can provide a certificate from the last six months attesting to their good health.

“We hope to inspire the entire industry to follow suit,” Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement, “thus making a real difference in the working conditions of fashion models industry-wide.”

Kering has also been a longstanding advocate to end violence against women, and Gucci, one of its brands, founded CHIME FOR CHANGE in 2013 to raise funds and awareness for girls' and women's empowerment. CHIME FOR CHANGE is a partner of Global Citizen.

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The protective measures follow a wave of criticism the industry has faced in the past about encouraging eating disorders, like anorexia.

An 2015 advertisement released by Yves Saint Laurent showed a model strewn across the floor, her rib cage prominent, and legs disproportionate to her platform shoes, before it was banned.

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Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority called the female model “very thin” and the advertisement “irresponsible.”

Since then, the UK has banned ads that are overly airbrushed and has taken measures to set strict standards for the modeling industry, including requiring a BMI minimum for models.

Earlier this year, France also prohibited the use of unhealthy, overly thin models, passing a law that legally obligated magazines to indicate when a model’s photo has been retouched.

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The impact of advertising on beauty standards on both men and women is very real — affecting both physical and mental health. The move is a healthy step toward creating a culture that is kinder to different body types and beauty standards.

LVMH and Kering’s new charter will be monitored by representatives from several brands, agencies and models, who will meet each year.

“We have the responsibility of building new standards for fashion,” Antoine Arnault, Chairman of Loro Piana and Chief Executive Officer of Berluti, said. “We hope to be followed by other players in our sector.”

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Size 0 Models Are Now Banned by These Luxury Fashion Brands

By Gabriella Canal