Friday, May 18th, 2012
Hannah Stewart looks at the life of Elisany Silva. At 14, she is the tallest teen in the world, a mixed blessing indeed. But can she make it in the modelling world? First Elisany’s take on her future:
Modelling is one of the most ruthless and competitive industries in the world. To make it as a catwalk model, in an industry teeming with hopefuls, you can be nothing less than young, beautiful, excessively thin, and of course, tall.
Elisany Silva is blessed with these attributes, and then some. The 14-year-old stands at a staggering 6ft 9 inches, making her the world’s tallest teen. She had to leave her school in a remote village in Brazil when is could no longer fit her in, literally. With a limited educated and a modest background, she thinks modelling is her only chance at a better life.
The Anomaly of Height
Height separates models from mere mortals, so you would think Elisany would be perfect for the industry. Not so, in this fashion expert’s opinion. She would be an anomaly in an industry where models are models because they look the same.
Elisany would tower over any other woman on the catwalk. Clothes would have to be specially altered to fit her. In this industry, models are expected to change their shape (usually body mass) to fit clothes, not vice versa.
Fashion consultants such as Gok Wan want us all to be models, regardless of our size. But this view is utopian. Models look the same for a reason – fashion is about the clothes, not the girls who wear them. Models are no more than living clothes-horses; pleasantly attractive, but unobtrusive.
Could she be a model for a tall women’s clothes catalogue? That too is a stretch, I think. Too much material wasted, too few women of that size.
I would like to see the fashion world break from convention and embrace Elisany. But I expect it isn’t about to overhaul its ways any time soon.
What do you think? Will Elisany make it as a model?
Hannah Stewart is wowdewow’s fashion expert. You can email her on info@wowdewow.com
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Tags: catwalk models, Elisany Silva, model, modelling, world's tallest teen
I think being accepted by the modelling world is the least of this girls problems. If she does indeed have a tumour on her pituitary gland there is a high chance she has Acromegaly, a condition that makes the body continue growing well past puberty. Sadly this usually leads to an early death for the sufferer as the body struggles to cope with the increasing mass.
There is a new treatment that has shown to rapidly slow the process, so my wish is she makes enough money modelling to be able to afford this treatment before it’s too late.
Boa Sorte Elisany!