Kering fashion houses to stop hiring models under 18

Fashion company Kering has announced that it will no longer use models who are under the age of 18.

The French luxury group owns several major fashion houses, including Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen.

The policy will come into effect in time for the 2020-2021 Autumn/Winter collections, Kering said.

Chief executive François Henri-Pinault said in a statement that the company was "conscious of the influence exerted on younger generations" by its images.

"We believe that we have a responsibility to put forward the best possible practices in the luxury sector, and we hope to create a movement that will encourage others to follow suit," he said.

Marie-Claire Daveu, Kering's chief sustainability officer, added: "The physiological and psychological maturity of models aged over 18 seems more appropriate to the rhythm and demands that are involved in this profession."

Sara Ziff, founder of the campaign group Model Alliance, told BBC News the announcement was "a positive step towards eliminating the intense pressure models currently face to maintain an adolescent physique and to go to extremes to lose weight".

But she added that it lacks a "mechanism for actual enforcement" - and that she fears the pledge could "amount to little more than lip service to critical issues that have plagued the industry for far too long".

Kering's decision comes as fashion brands are increasingly trying to become more ethical, both in their designs and in their working practices.
In August last year Condé Nast, which publishes Vogue magazine, announced that it would not use models under the age of 18 in editorial shoots, unless they were the subject of an article.

"This is partly the result of an internal reckoning," an editorial in Vogue said at the time. "Vogue, along with a number of other publications, has played a role in making it routine for children - since that's what they are - to be dressed and marketed as glamorous adults."

It continued: "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. While we can't rewrite the past, we can commit to a better future."