FASHION Magazine

Britney Spears waits for no one…not even democracy. The reigning Princess of Pop is set to perform in Tel Aviv on July 3 as part of her summer tour across Asia. Except, “oops,” July 3 just so happens to be the day The Israeli Labor Party has scheduled its primary election. Between traffic, security and sheer conflict of interest […]

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Diplo sprang to our collective consciousness as rap star M.I.A.’s DJ and collaborator (and, briefly, romantic partner). He’s gone on to record two albums as one half of Major Lazer and work with pop-dance artists such as La Roux, Santigold and Robyn, and he worked with Beyoncé on the beats for “Run the World (Girls).” Naturally, all of this led to a busy touring schedule. While he criss-crossed the globe, Diplo (a.k.a. Thomas Wesley Pentz) began to explore local music scenes in search of acts to sign to his Philadelphia-based Mad Decent label—notably baile funk from the favelas of Brazil, kuduro from Angola and “bounce” from New Orleans. Now, he’s released a book of the highlights from his journeys, 128 Beats Per Minute: Diplo’s Visual Guide to Music, Culture, and Everything in Between (Universe), with a foreword by the high priest of coolness, Alexander Wang.

It’s been a landmark year for the international modeling industry what with the CFDA’s new suggested age restrictions and the somewhat ridiculous banning of a bajillion British ads. But now, Israel has become the first country to legally regulate the weight of working models.

According to the bill passed Monday, models attending castings must now bring medical documentation from the past three months proving they have a BMI of at least 18.5—below which the World Health Organization deems you officially malnourished. As a point of reference, Kate Moss has a BMI of around 17 whereas Naomi Campbell’s is a totally shocking 6.5. Well, looks like those two can officially say goodbye to an Israeli ad campaign.

All ads produced for the Israeli market must also have a clear statement saying the photo has been altered to make the model appear skinnier. We can only imagine the happy dance the British Advertising Standards Authority is doing right now.

Of course, there are some critics who are saying the new law should be based on health, not on weight. According to them, some models are naturally very thin and would be unfairly excluded from work because of their normal size.

The new rules won’t apply to foreign publications sold in Israel, so we can’t expect to see any major international changes just yet. But this is a definite step in the right direction. Clearly, the loose industry guidelines set in the US and UK aren’t quite enough to set some of the more rebellious designers straight (hint hint: Marc Jacobs).