Fattening Up the Models

Has someone seen the light at the end of the tunnel? Well, it’s high time. Lately it’s become more and more evident models the world over have become so painfully thin that you could almost count their ribs! So before they disappear into the catwalk altogether and be one of the planks used for the catwalk, someone had the guts to tell fatten up or else!

Young girls all over the world have been starving themselves, and in the process been afflicted with eating disorders, just so that they could look like their favourite models, and be able to get into size zero dresses. So it’s a good thing that Madrid has banned thin models. Already concerned people in other countries have called on their fashion folks to ban thin models. The controversy over this ban is raging all over the fashion world.

Recently a research done by the University of Bath suggests that women actually prefer size zero models rather than being turned off by them. Out of the 470 women interviewed two thirds believed that slimmer women looked more interesting, elegant and pleasant on the catwalk. They also believed weight could be controlled by diet and exercise. However, size zero is just too thin isn’t it?

Being slim and shapely is every woman’s dream. But to look like a walking skeleton is a nightmare for the on lookers. Women are not such pushovers that fashion houses have to dress up ultra thin women and con other women into buying their garments. Women would be only too glad to spend money on buying clothes, whether it suits their figure or not. Why else would we see women squeezing themselves into clothes several sizes too small for them?

Living the sunny side of lifePolitics can drive you insane, says Fathimath Nazeer Jamal. But the ‘Face of Maldives’ has other (environmental) plans…
As Maldives Surfing Association’s annual national surfing contest took place last week at the Varunulaa Raalhugandu, something was out of place: why has the Rannamaari Challenge always been a male-dominated contest? Can the answer be found in a cultural context?Fathimath Nazeer Jamal, or Chuppi as she is popularly called among family and friends, thinks so, though she disagrees that gender may be the root cause of all human suffering. “It’s still seen as the idle man’s sport,” she says. “Even now many parents frown upon it, though there has been a recent change in attitude. We can now see that surfing is becoming an important contributor to Maldivian tourism as well,” says 22-year-old Chuppi, one of the few female surfers who can be found braving the waves off Lonuziyaaraiy Kolhu.Female surfers may be a rare breed here, but Chuppi struggles to continue the ‘Aloha tradition’, even if it’s alone. “I do it for enjoyment. I will never take part in a competition.” Though the boys have always been supportive on the line-up, being a solo surfer has its disadvantages. Chuppi says she finds it inconvenient most of the time to get into the water alone because the few female surfing partners she had for companionship are busy with other engagements.An artist by profession, Chuppi, with her wholesome Maldivian looks, is also the “Face of Maldives” as she has appeared as Cover Girl for some brochures by Maldives Tourism Promotion Board. She has also appeared in various other advertisements, among them a BIG outdoor screen TV advertisement promoting wedding receptions at Central Hotel in Male. What are Chuppi’s plans for the present and the future? She says that she would like to hold her own solo art gallery displaying her works.“I also want to undergo professional training at the Hotel School,” she says. In addition to that, she plans to continue her modeling career though she was discreet as to what kind of area she wanted to specialize in. “With her all-Maldivian looks, she can easily become a make-up or hairstyle model,” commented a local beautician. “But then one should never limit one’s opportunities.”Chuppi, whose friends affectionately claim is ‘fussy in what she wears’, says that she does not have a particular preference in her style. “I would like to look hippy, junky and glamorous at the same time!” she says.

Direc-Ted: Interview with Tedry

When you think of a Maldivian movie director, chances are, the first name that will pop into your mind is Mohamed Niyaz, or Tedry as he is popularly known. Most people agree that he revolutionized the Maldivian film industry with his first feature length movie, Dheriyaa. But Tedry had been in the public’s eye even before he made his ground breaking debut film. He had won the hearts of the public by giving them what they needed when they wanted it most; a music video that could rival the best MTV songs of the time and later a comedy series that is still remembered fondly by many and agreed by even more as being unmatched even today for sheer hilarity and the unforgettable characters. Evening Weekly’s Mohamed Hursheed sits down with the producer/director to see what makes him tick.