Whatever Happened To Size Zero?

Warning: This article contains mentions of diet culture and body image struggles.

Everyone, it seemed, sported boho-chic styles showing off their spindly arms and newly defined clavicles.

At first I felt comforted to see numbers that had appeared on my scale at home, low 130s.

Others were in the mid-120s.

Then I looked farther down.

Those were before numbers.

None were above 112 pounds.

One number, especially, reigned supreme during this time period: size zero.

The idea soon became inescapable, says Leach, whos a contributing editor for Bustle.

In 2010, Calvin Kleindeclaredit was discontinuing size 0-2 in favor of size 2-4.

Francisco Costa, the creative director at the time, said, My customer is a real woman.

Shes not 14 years old, shes not 16 years old.

So what Im trying to do is cast models who are a little bit closer to reality.

It was honestly disheartening, plus-size model Ella Halikastold Bustle.

I just feel like were going backwards.

Will todays teens have it any easier than millennials who came of age in the early 2000s?

Ive been asked a lot about how to help the next generation of girls.

But from my research, I think it all just comes back to communication.

This article was originally published onJune 21, 2023