By Lilly Kanter ‘25, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

Davide Sorrenti, photographer, Courtesy of Vogue

A frequent occurrence in the fashion industry is the resurgence of older trends. A prime example of this is 90’s fashion, which has resurfaced in recent years. Fashion trends such as baggier clothing and slip dresses have become increasingly popular over the past few years. While trends have played a large role in transforming American fashion; they have also reintroduced damaging attitudes surrounding body image. Negative body criticism has been a ubiquitous theme since the creation of social media. Though the trends quickly go out of style, their negative impacts on one’s body image will not go away as the new fad arises. 

A New York Post article from December titled: “Bye-bye Booty: Heroin Chic is Back,” has received shocking amounts of attention on the internet. The term “Heroin chic” is defined as the glamorization of heroin and its side effects, which include being very pale and extremely thin with dark eye bags. The term was first thrown around during the 1990’s, but it was made tangible by photographer Davide Sorrenti, who mainly photographed very thin, grunge-looking models. He was accused of “glamorizing skinny and unhealthy models.” However, his short-lived career has lived on through the “Heroin chic” legacy. In the 90s, Kate Moss was the “face” of the trend. As people idolized Moss, or models with the same “Heroin chic” look, the idealized body type grew more difficult to ignore. 

The glamorization of “Heroin chic” carried over from the fashion industry to the movie industry. Characters in “Pulp Fiction”, like Mia Wallace,  are seen popularizing the trend on two levels. Not only did Uma Therman, the actress who played Mia Wallace, fit the thin, grunge look of the “Heroin Chic” illusion, but in the movie she also abused heroin. By adding the use of illegal drugs to the equation, the “Heroin chic” fantasy becomes that much more dangerous. Living in a society that romanticizes an ideal body type leads girls to believe they need to look like their favorite movie stars, no matter the mental and physical consequences. Even if women can reach these impossible standards, the trends change and create more unreasonable goals, shifting the media perception of beauty standards once again. While this phenomenon may seem spontaneous, the economy, arts, and social media all play a role in the rapid change in fashion trends.

The “Heroin Chic” idea has received enormous backlash across social media. Instagram celebrity Izzie Rogers has voiced her concerns, stating, “Your body is NOT a trend and we certainly are NOT going back to ‘Heroin chic.” Celebrities are not the only ones speaking up on this issue. Medical professionals have become concerned about the trend and its mental health implications. A study done by Illinois State University said, “Researchers have found a correlation between the time spent on social media and a negative body image.” With the addition of “Heroin chic” to the growing list of impossible beauty standards, girls are experiencing more pressure to look a certain way only exacerbated by social media.

Although in the past decade there has been significantly more attention directed towards body image than in the past, there is still much room for improvement. Using and promoting the term, “Heroin chic” is dangerous, and will create a further crisis about body image. It is important to understand why and how trends go in and out of fashion, to ensure we don’t succumb to the opinions of the media. Body trends like these tend to be started by men; in the case of “heroin chic”, it was started by a male photographer in the fashion industry. It is damaging that this movement, and other movements, were started by men, because “heroin chic” allows opportunities for men to dictate the beauty standards surrounding women. The Internet encourages people to blindly follow toxic and harmful ideals. There is especially too much emphasis on female body image in the media. While confidence is a hard topic to discuss, it is important to have a greater understanding of this issue and to shed light on the media’s influence on body image, in order to prevent others from striving for unrealistic body standards.