Model Edie Campbell is giving major props to Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini for a super-important reason.
While backstage at the designer's show during Milan Fashion Week, Edie snapped a photo of the individual changing areas that were reportedly offered to the models. "Thank you @philosophyofficial for being the only show I've done in Milan with private changing areas," she wrote on her Instagram story. The post also noted that she and other models have often had to "get naked" in front of hair & makeup artists, photographers, caterers, A/V technicians, press, security guards, and "literally hundreds of other people."
Her 'gram raises an important point. Models are entitled to privacy just like the rest of us. Even though their bodies are vehicles for their work, they still have personal agency over their physical space. Most importantly, no one should be forced to undress in front of people if it makes them uncomfortable — regardless of profession.
This isn't the first time that Edie has spoken out about issues within the fashion industry today. In an open letter that the model penned for WWD, she addressed the fact that models often experience abuse, or pressures to do things that make them uncomfortable — like taking off their clothes in front of others. "Being 15 — or, actually, being any age — and not wanting to be topless, or strip naked in front of what are essentially your 'work colleagues' is not prudish," she wrote, adding: "You see where I’m going here? There need to be boundaries. There must be limits to the creative process, given the potential human cost. Fashion is great when it celebrates the people involved in the creative process, not when it destroys them. The work should not become more important than the people who are involved in it."
