Fashion bible Vogue and its publisher Conde Nast will no longer feature underage models on its pages, the company announced on Thursday, calling on the wider industry to do the same.
The move was announced in the September edition of Vogue US, in an article titled "Why the fashion world needs to commit to an 18+ modeling standard".
It followed the release of a new Code of Conduct back in January after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
“In recognition of the unique vulnerability of minors thrown into a career where they have little control and where abuse has been all too commonplace, the vendor code of conduct stipulates that no model under the age of eighteen will be photographed for editorial,” Vogue’s Maya Singer wrote in the piece, explaining the new policy.
Singer acknowledged that Vogue had previously been part of the problem by dressing and marketing underage models “as glamorous adults”.
“No more: It’s not right for us, it’s not right for our readers, and it’s not right for the young models competing to appear in these pages," she said. "While we can’t rewrite the past, we can commit to a better future.”
She added, however, that underage models may still feature if they are the subject of an article.