Thylane Blondeau Is New Face Fashion Industry Obsession With Young Girls

Thylane Lena Rose Blondeau | A Supermodel in the Making

We have joined the discussion around French model sensaation Thylane Blondeau and the fashion industry’s new ultra-youth obsession. At a time when the luxury market customer is growing older in average age, the fashion industry is obsessed with making superstars our of 10 and 12 year olds.

Hailee Steinfeld, 14, who was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in ‘True Grit’ is the new face of Prada’s Miu Miu Fall 2011 campaign.

The 12-year-old Elle Fanning, star of ‘Somewhere,’ has been the “girl to dress” in Hollywood, appearing on the red carpet wearing everything from Rodarte to Marc Jacobs.

After she appeared in a fashion spread in Interview, the magazine’s entertainment editor, Lauren Tabach-Bank, told the Daily Beast: “It sounds crazy to say someone has a good figure at 12—but she captures a youthful spirit … She’s not oversexed, but she can wear clothing well.”

Bottom line, Saudi Arabia is trying to make marrying child brides against the law with a prominent imam arguing that Islam embraces child brides; in Texas yesterday jurors listened to Warren Jeffs on tape tell a 12-year-old to take off her clothes and become his spiritual bride in an act others characterize as sexual assault and rape.

And fashion has gone gaga over sweet young things, too — as they always have — but now worse than ever, argue many who see all the attention to 10-year-old Thylane Blondeau as just too much.

For us, the entire subject is filled with complexity, asking ourselves if Blondeau is a sexual bombshell or grownups can’t help seeing her that way. Perhaps she is an old soul? And what do the French have to say about this situation?  Read on.