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Ioana SpangenbergRomanian model with a waist of 50.8 cm
Country:
 Romania |
Content:
Biography of Ioana Spangenberg – The Romanian Model with a 20-Inch Waist
Ioana Spangenberg, the Romanian model with a waist measuring just 20 inches, has caught the attention of modeling agencies around the world. Designers dream of models with such a slim waist as it eliminates the need for constant fittings and allows for the creation of extraordinary outfits. However, Spangenberg is not the record holder when it comes to the narrowness of her waist. Fashion journalist Liz Jones points out that her grandmother had a waist measurement of 18 inches in the early 1900s, achieved with the help of corsets. Jones remarks, "My grandmother still had hips, buttocks, and breasts, while Ioana is just a hanger. Not even a wooden hanger, but a wire hanger." Jones continues, "I can't imagine how Ioana looks naked. Oh, I do know. That's exactly how I looked when I crossed the threshold of 20 years old and ended up in the hospital due to my painful thinness."
An Unusual Figure
Spangenberg, however, claims that she eats a full and balanced diet every day, not depriving herself of anything. She never shies away from fatty or calorie-rich foods, knowing that her "small stomach" will signal when she is full. If she eats a little too much, she immediately feels unwell, sometimes even nauseous. Jones expresses skepticism about celebrities who claim to eat indulgently, stating, "I don't believe that Ioana, as she says, eats three large meals a day and snacks on chocolate and chips." At a Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) conference, Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova, who graced the cover of Vogue, revealed how designers had asked her to lose even more weight. Another model, Elettra Wiedemann, was advised to reduce the size of her breasts and undergo a nose job. It is unknown whether Spangenberg's employers made similar demands, but the model herself asserts that beauty standards in her native Romania differ from those accepted internationally and that excessively thin girls are almost destined for loneliness.
Love and Marriage
Due to her thinness, Spangenberg remained without a partner for a long time until she caught the eye of a German man named Jan. He loved Ioana "just as she is," and the couple got married in 2006.
Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Jones continues to expose the unpleasant aspects of the modeling industry, stating, "Our glossy magazines, fearing to disrupt the orders given by all-powerful advertisers, seem completely detached from reality." She adds, "Even magazines targeting mature women still refrain from featuring anyone who eats well and was born before 1990." Jones reveals that in 2009, Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman complained to her designers about receiving extremely tiny samples of clothing, which required finding thinner and thinner models. Yet, the cover of the latest issue featured American model Arizona Muse, whom Jones had previously been shocked to see posing in a swimsuit with protruding hips, resembling a lanky corpse. Shulman later announced that she would give a speech promoting her new book and would answer any questions from the audience, except one: why are the models in Vogue so thin?
Jones shows pictures of Spangenberg to a group of young girls, and while most of them find her waif-like figure repulsive, one 14-year-old aspiring model, who already works with the fashion resource "Priory," openly admits, "Ioana looks so thin and unhealthy, but I can't stop thinking about how I wouldn't mind having a 19-20 inch waist myself." She adds, "If I haven't achieved it yet, it means I'm not trying hard enough. Overall, I think Ioana is just magnificent."
With her reported measurements of 32-20-32, Spangenberg's figure looks extremely unusual, but not to the little girls who play with Mattel's Barbie dolls. If the doll were scaled to human size, it would look similar to Ioana – "unhealthy and unrealistic."
