Fashion

Thylane has graced the cover of Vogue Enfants, starred in ad campaigns for the children's lines of major brands, and regularly works with top fashion photographers including Dani Brubaker. She started early: in October, 2005, at the age of 4, Thylane walked in Jean-Paul Gaultier's spring show.

American model and actress Brooke Shields was just 10-years-old when this controversial photo was taken (see below), and that controversy has stuck around for decades.  So the use of young girls in fashion magazines is not a novelty.

The controversy over Thylane's Vogue fashion pictures started on Facebook when some individuals made some controversial comments about the photos and continues to draw attention. Mrs. Loubry, Thylane's mother explained on Facebook that her daughter is not aware of the controversy and she wants to protect her from any harm.  And, although she mentioned she was going to cancel her face book account.Although some users of the social network are still questioning if a 10 year old should be acting like an adult or should a 10-year-olds stick to playing dress up like most girl her age without commercial gains and publicity stunts.The December/January 2011 issue of Vogue showcased Thylane and two other girls covered in glamorous couture, glossy make-up and expensive jewelry. Thylene's agent said the idea was for the little girls to play "dress-up." She added: "There was a great deal of humor at the session."  Sadly the fun was tainted by the critics who complained about the content that was felt too be too sexy, too soon with some provocative poses. For the family, the negative attention has been devastating and they feel the photos have been taken out of context. Friends of the family said Thylane is an ordinary little girl that studies ballet and plays with dolls.  As for her modeling carrer, freinds of teh family said: "Her parents will decide whether to slow down or even stop her career in light of what happened. They want to do what is right for their daughter."

While the fashion industry seems to be getting younger and younger as a whole, with teenagers taking over as designers, fashion writers, and models (Dakota Fanning's 13-year-old sister is the new face of Marc Jacobs), a distinctions must be drawn between dealing with appropriate ads directed to young kids who are getting involved in fashion at an early age an having an industry teeming with possibly age-inappropriate things like baby-bikinis and padded bras for little girls.