Crystal Renn walking for Mark Fast in Feb 2010 and at the Met Opera House on Monday. Photos: PA/Getty
We try not to write about the weight fluctuations of celebrities but Crystal Renn, the former poster girl for the plus-size modelling industry, and her recent weight loss makes for a story about more than just having an off-day while wearing a bikini.
Crystal spent the majority of her early modelling career striving to make it as a 'straight-size' (as in, size zero thin) model, developing the eating disorder anorexia nervosa as a result. In an interview with German publication Spiegel she admitted:
"I was asking how many calories chewing gum had and I spent eight hours in the gym every day. At 5 feet 7 inches I ended up weighting 108 pounds (49 kilos). It was a constant agony. My hair fell out and I was isolating myself more and more."
In an interview with Time, Renn describes taking the decision to deal with the disorder:
"I remember having my epiphany moment and making the decision to eat again. It was pretty amazing. My first meal was what many would regard as very healthy: a salad with salmon, walnuts and olive oil. At the time, I feared that I would gain 100 lb. with one bite. It didn't happen, and I felt superrelieved. I knew I was on the right path."
She then went on to add:
"I don't really watch my weight at all now. I do make sure that I eat as healthy as I can for energy purposes, but I no longer restrict my calorie intake to feel better about myself."
It was hugely refreshing to have this articulate, healthy, engaging woman flying the flag for normal-sized women in the fashion industry as well as strutting down the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier.
Crystal Renn and Jean Paul Gaultier in 2005. Photo: PA
Of course there were more than a few comments saying that glamourising being fat and unhealthy was just as dangerous as the size zero mentality but then again, in modelling plus-size doesn't mean plus-size as you might understand it from shop floor sizing. From Renn's book, Hungry: "It's simply bizarre that 'normal' is the new overweight."
Over the last year we've caught sight of Renn at various weights between super skinny and plus-size but her red carpet appearance for the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera Season 2011 seemed to signify a different outlook.
In February, Renn told the Ford Models Blog:
"I couldn't possibly live up to [the plus-size image people had of me], and at this point in my life I would have to actually have another eating disorder to live up to that expectation. I had anorexia ultimately because someone else set the standard for me and I wanted to follow it. And if I followed what the public wanted from me or what the media wants from me, I'd be doing the same thing... [I]t's about individual health. You cannot tell if someone is healthy, where they are mentally, from the outside, because health is different for everybody at different sizes."
Photo: Getty
It's not our place to be disappointed in Renn for any fluctuations in her weight, but by choosing to write a memoir about her experiences of the fashion industry entitled Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves, by stating while she was a US size 12 (UK 16) "I eat as healthy as I can", and by generally being a much-needed counterpoint to a lot of the conventions of fashion, we can't help but feel a little saddened by the 'After' pictures.
To compare Renn's Mark Fast appearance with the models from his recent NYFW show, click through the gallery below: