Fashion's Latest Obsession Is A 12-Year-Old

We’re just going to run the first sentence of this piece verbatim. “With a ballet-dancer frame perfect for Rodarte and Valentino, the 12-year-old star of Sofia Coppola’s new film, Somewhere, has emerged as a fashion-world darling.” Fashion: not even pretending!

Usually, designers at least make a pretense of designing for the bodies of adult women — or, at any rate, don’t explicitly state to the contrary, even if that woman isn’t exactly average. And the media plays along. But today the Daily Beast is just going for it, praising a child for, well, looking like a child in adult clothes.

Elle Fanning, little sis of Dakota and lately star of Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, is 12…and looks it. She’s certainly one chic kid — and a nice role-model alternative to the Noah Cyruses of the tween universe — but the operative word is “kid.”

Though she’s still missing five teeth, Elle has shot up to 5-foot-6, and dresses look good on her ballet-dancer frame. “More designers are going to want to dress her because she’s tall-it’s sounds crazy to say someone has a good figure at 12-but she captures a youthful spirit,” says Interview’s entertainment director, Lauren Tabach-Bank. “She’s not oversexed, but she can wear clothing well.” The fashion world loves Elle-and it’s clear that the affection is mutual.

We imagine a “youthful spirit” isn’t such a stretch for someone not yet out of elementary school. And that’s not a “ballet-dancer frame;” it’s called prepubescent.

Noted our friend Jessica Grose at XX,

This is just a few months after Christina Hendricks, the patron saint of women who don’t have ballet-dancer frames, said that she still struggles to find designer frocks to wear to big events…None of this is to knock Elle Fanning, or those women who are naturally slender, but seeing a tween elevated to fashion icon before she’s fully gone through puberty while a famous woman with curves can’t even find a dress is pretty appalling.

Elle Fanning is an adorable girl who shows all signs of being a very competent actress. But holding her up as a fashion exemplar largely because she’s a child is just plain creepy. And frankly, beyond parody.

Elle Fanning, Fashion’s Favorite Star [Daily Beast]
Breaking: Fashion Industry Loves a Lanky 12-Year-Old [XX]