Is the fashion industry broken? | Ulrikke Høyer sacked by Louis Vuitton for being "too big"

Louis Vuitton has been one of my favourite brands for years. I have always adored their collections, clothing, bags and ethics – but ever since Thursday night when I discovered the terrible way that model Ulrikke Høyer had been treated prior to the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2018 showcase, I felt sickened at the way the fashion industry treats models and in turn, makes young girls feel...

Ulrikke Høyer is a 20-year-old Danish model who was supposed to be walking for Louis Vuitton's Cruise 2018 showcase but was sacked for being "too big" – despite being a tiny size two. On Thursday night I was scrolling through Instagram when I came across this post (see below). I was instantly stunned and felt sickened to my core. Not only does she look super thin already, but Louis Vuitton wants her to be even smaller.

I just returned from Tokyo/Japan, where Louis Vuitton held a beautiful cruise show in Kyoto, I just never made it to Kyoto cause I was canceled for the show due to being ‘too big’. (I’m a size 34-36) Ashley Brokaw’s caster Alexia had said that there had been some problems during the fitting. According to her I had “a very bloated stomach”, “bloated face”, and urged me to starve myself with this statement “Ulrikke needs to drink only water for the next 24 hours”. I was shocked when I heard it. I woke up at 2am and was extremely hungry. The breakfast started at 6:30am – I had the absolute minimum. I was afraid to meet Alexia so my luck she didn’t arrive until 8am, when my plate was taken off the table. She said good morning to me and the other girls and looked at me, then down on my non-existent plate and up at me again. She was checking if I had been eating food. At 7pm my mother agent from Denmark called my to tell the sad news that Louis Vuitton had chosen to cancel me from the show without the refitting and that I was going to be sent back home. Not only did I have a belly, my face was puffy now also my back was a problem. I am glad I’m 20 years old with an elite sports background and not a 15 year old girl, who are new to this and unsure about herself, because I have no doubt that I would then have ended up very sick and scarred long into my adult life. TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK IN MY BIO!!!!!!! #LVCruise2018 #mistreatmentofmodels #AshleyBrokaw #thefutureisfemale #sowhyeatingdisorders #youknowitstrue #shareifyoucare #jamespscully

A post shared by Ulrikke Hoyer (@ulrikkehoyer) on May 18, 2017 at 7:17am PDT

After seeing the above, I instantly screenshot it and posted it on my Twitter page expressing my absolute disgust about the way that this beautiful girl had been treated. I got some amazing responses from my followers, and they were just as horrified as me at how this girl had been mistreated by such a well-known and admirable brand. One of my biggest fears was, and still is, the potential impact upon young, impressionable girls that this may have.

Ulrikke Høyer is clearly ultra thin, fragile and extremely tiny - her extra small size two proves this. I have nothing against any body type - in fact I accept them, respect them and appreciate them all, but this is incredibly damaging for any young girl, not to mention any young aspiring model, is it not? Ulrikke has been described as having a "bloated face" when her face is most definitely not this, she has also been described as being "too big" which is incredibly untrue and she has also been instructed to starve herself and to only "drink water for the next 24 hours" - firstly, how is this healthy? and secondly, how is this in any way, shape or form aspirational for young girls? How could young, healthy girls want this?

Young girls need a positive body image radiated across social media, the overall media and the fashion industry too. Extremely thin girls who are being instructed to starve themselves isn't a positive message and most definitely isn't a message that should be promoted for young girls to be influenced by. If young girls believe this to be aspirational, they need help because this could in turn, cause them to develop serious mental health issues including anxiety, depression and eating disorders too, including anorexia and bulimia. Being healthy comes in many shapes and sizes and if this happens to look thin, curvy, slim, full-figured or chubby - then so be it, but health should come before appearance, whether that be physical or mental health. I have nothing against models who are healthy, thin and happy in their chosen career paths, but if being told to starve yourself is a norm in the modelling industry, then it's utterly ridiculous and sickening to think that any girl (or boy) would put up with this - I'm so glad that Ulrikke has walked away, spoken out and strong enough to stand up to this issue.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Let me know below. Also, I shall be posting more content regarding body image as I definitely think that it's a subject that needs to be addressed more.