Mitra Khayyam (above with artist Patrick Jilbert), owner of Blood is the New Black, always wanted to be an artist but unfortunately she never really had the skill, even so much as to draw a straight line. Well aware of her limitations, she chose to delve into the fashion industry, focusing on the business end versus the creative.

After several years of working in “the industry”, she went from being told she’d “never work in this town again” by one of the most prominent fashion photographers to being named one of V Magazine’s “Seventeen Most Industrious” in NYC. In 2004, Mitra finally decided to launch Blood is the New Black based on her thesis written a few years earlier. Her intention is use the company to open up talented artists to wider audiences and to allow their art to become available to many in this wearable form.

More on Mitra & Blood is the New Black after the jump!

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The issue of model’s weight and body image have long plagued the fashion industry, though nothing has really been done about it. A few months back during the Spring ‘07 Shows, Spain’s top fashion show led the way in saying "enough is enough" by rejecting certain models as being "too skinny." It seems this was a spark for a new trend. Now, "Italy is looking for international consensus on its plan to issue licenses to fashion models who meet an age and health standard." I think it’s great that the fashion industry is recognizing the impact that it can have on womens’ body images and I look forward to the day when models look more like women and less like skeletons.
Read the full story after the jump . . .

Image: MSN

Info: WWD & MSN

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