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Last week, all 19 global editions of Vogue pledged to cease hiring models who are under the age of 16 or who “appear to have eating disorders.” But will Vogue be able to stop young models from being exploited? Like the CFDA’s, Vogue’s Health Initiative is an attempt at self-regulation, which in modeling has so far borne mixed results. The CFDA’s guidelines governing working hours for models under 18 are actually less strict than the applicable New York state labor law. And the CFDA rules have been widely flouted: They ask designers not to hire models under 16 for runway work, but this February, Marc Jacobs — who sits on the organization’s board, and was the recipient of its lifetime achievement award in 2011 — hired not one but two 14-year-olds for his show. He defended himself on the grounds of creative freedom. In March, I reported for Jezebel that Jacobs hired a 17-year-old Oregon girl to be his house model for the season; she put in over 30 hours in his studio, working ’til 4:30 a.m. Jacobs, whose budget for a single fashion show reportedly topped $1 million in 2011, didn’t pay her.

Last week, all 19 global editions of Vogue pledged to cease hiring models who are under the age of 16 or who “appear to have eating disorders.” But will Vogue be able to stop young models from being exploited?

Like the CFDA’s, Vogue’s Health Initiative is an attempt at self-regulation, which in modeling has so far borne mixed results. The CFDA’s guidelines governing working hours for models under 18 are actually less strict than the applicable New York state labor law. And the CFDA rules have been widely flouted: They ask designers not to hire models under 16 for runway work, but this February, Marc Jacobs — who sits on the organization’s board, and was the recipient of its lifetime achievement award in 2011 — hired not one but two 14-year-olds for his show. He defended himself on the grounds of creative freedom. In March, I reported for Jezebel that Jacobs hired a 17-year-old Oregon girl to be his house model for the season; she put in over 30 hours in his studio, working ’til 4:30 a.m. Jacobs, whose budget for a single fashion show reportedly topped $1 million in 2011, didn’t pay her.

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