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Is It Creepy That The Industry Is Obsessed With A 10-Year-Old?

If you’re having grown-person self-esteem issues today, this is not the post you want to be reading. Herein, we’d like to introduce you to Thylane Lena Rose Blondeau, a French model who, at the tender age of 10 (Yes! Ten! OMFG!) is already poised to twirl the modeling industry around her little finger.

It’s not just that her face is more symmetric than Claudia Schiffer‘s or that she gives attitude like Jessica White — or that she already has a Tumblr dedicated to her photos. It’s the fact that she’s 10 and in her photos (which are legion) she looks more self-aware and confident than most models working today — to say nothing of grown women in general.

But maybe her parents are just doing a really great job of raising her? Thylane is the daughter of French TV personality and children’s clothing designer Veronika Loubry (guess who Veronika’s favorite model is?) and former pro-soccer player Patrick Blondeau. Both professions are very public and require an unparalleled degree of composure and self esteem. Clearly those things have rubbed off.

And before you start shouting at us about how creepy it is that we’re cheering on a 10-year-old, consider this. Every industry has its prodigies — a 12-year-old boy just designed a dress for Michelle Obama, and the winner of the top prize at the Google Science Fair was a 17-year-old girl who made a breakthrough in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Clearly, modeling is not Western biomedicine. And, admittedly, when Thylane’s photos showed up in Vogue Enfants last December, we thought they were a little creepy (but that’s mostly because she was wearing tons and tons of makeup in them.) In her other photos, and ostensibly in her life, Thylane seems to us to be an extremely well-adjusted, privileged child. And we can’t blame her for that. As long her parents don’t let her model lingerie before she can buy cigarettes (the smoking age in France is 18), we don’t see any reason to be threatened by Thylane or concerned for her well-being. Wait five years, give or take, and Thylane will dominate campaigns left and right. And we’re guessing no one’s going to have a problem with it then.

UPDATE: Photographer Dani Brubaker asked us to remove several of the photos in our gallery. That said, you can still see them at JezebelFashionistaRadar, or the Daily Beast.



[Thylane Blondeau Tumblr]



  • livin out loud

    I think shes beautiful..just so she stays a child, its wonderful..and you should probably stop making fun of models’ mental abilities…modeling is hard…I’ve watched the shows; its damn hard..everything is hard work..so give them a large break….peace… and a cookie..hahaha

  • Anonymous

    She is beautiful. Let’s hope her parents are, too, so that they insist she remain a child who is grounded in reality.

  • Cedarblu

    the child is stunning to the point of jaw dropping perfection. i think children modeling is fine as long as it’s not overtly seductive and sexual – which makes me hold the photographer and agency and parents responsible for what is being portrayed of a child. ( that couch / animal print shot is inappropriate in my opinion )
    we just drooled over elle fanning’s LOVE cover. she’s a child as well. we all know the average age of a model is 15. 
    it sounds like the parents are fully immersed and well versed and involved in the industry and will have their daughters well being at the forefront; and won’t pimp out and destroy their child like dina and michael lohan would. 
    Thylane is so beautiful – i hope she’s also just a regular little girl who goes to school, works on math and grammar problems, and runs around in her overalls to play hop scotch and giggle with her girlfriends.
    hopefully she thinks this attention is all just a little ridiculous.

  • http://www.delectablychic.com CynthiaC.M.

    Let’s hope her parents only let her model for kids’ clothes only – exactly what kid models SHOULD be doing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=536065171 Lindsay Luv

    modeling in the adult world is generally sexualizing and making an article of clothing look more attractive. She should ONLY be modeling kids clothes in kiddy type catalogues etc.Kids should be looked at as cute and such but putting them in adult like clothing and poses is truly only sexualizing a child and in an adult industry and with all the pedophiles etc- do we really need to fuel the fire. Not to mention we ALL know what the behind the scenes of the modeling industry looks like. Is it safe or good parenting to expose your kid to all the pressures and demands of a career based on appearance at that young an age, not to mention many of the jerks and perves that work in it? I think not.  If she is this adorable now, imagine what she will look like at an appropriate age for a job like this and how much better she will fare. And I haven’t even tapped on the fact of what this obsession with youth is doing to grown women. Now we are supposed to dress and look like a TEN year old. This is ridiculous. Age is beautiful on a woman who ages gracefully and nothing is sexier than a confident grown woman wearing clothes she feels comfortable and sexy in. Not layering a bunch of makeup and stuff on a child. Parents should respect and PROTECT their childrens delicate youth- not exploit it.- they have their whole LONG adult lives to do that.

  • Susie

    Beautiful child, no doubt, but just a CHILD. That French Vogue editorial was rather innapropriate. I dont need to see children modeling clothes and accesories in magazines for ADULT women.

  • joyce a

    As long as she is modeling childrens and pre teen clothing, what’s the big deal? Except the sweater hat in the photo above is dumb. That’s exactly who should be modelling those clothes.

  • Baby Tashj

    she seems like a good model but everything copmes easier to the rich, i mean if her parents where like a teacher and a nurse do u think her pictures would be up there?
    its more like a gimmic.
    and not only her but other rich kids whos parents are in the industry have it easy too

  • Susie

    Joyce, I dont know what kind of kids clothing stores youve been to but I dont know any ten year old children who walk around in short shorts and low cut tops with no camisole underneath like Thylane is wearing in that first pic. I also dont understand the need for her to have tousled bed room hair a la Brigitte Bardot in a lot of her pics, either. Considering her age, very creepy. I grew up in the 80s and remember when kids actually wore AGE APPROPRIATE clothes.

  • William Carruth

    Send her mother to Devil’s Island or some equivalent. How about the Tower of London? GAWD! This is REALLY sick & disgusting, But anything for a fast buck, right Mom?

  • mom

    There is no need to have her model  posed in ADULT clothing and stilleto heels. Children’s clothing in a catalog, yes but not this drivel. This is an industry fueled in part by  the parents who think it is cool to dress their daughters like whores  to appeal to pedofiles( who else could it possbile apppeal to as it turns my stomach as a mom) and in part by the “fashion ” industry who always seeks to be on the cutting edge and pushing the boundaries of common decency.

  • georgous

    This kid is just like any other 10 y.o girl, she wants to be what are now the new style princesses : the models. 
    She’s beautiful and I’m sure her parents are very concerned about her not being swallowed by this industry. She’s only allowed to work on holidays and on off school days as written in french law and all her earnings are freezed until her majority (18). 
    So let this kid live her dream. 
    At least she doesn’t look like a mini whore like most of mini USA misses !!!!!

  • Pete

     All arguments can be thrown out that see nothing wrong with this.. It doesn’t take much brains to see that she is being sexualised. If it was normal modeling for a child, it wouldn’t be on the news in the first place.

  • Dave197609

    just plain sick , and a perfect example of where the morals in this world are …..THE TOILET !!!

  • Dave197609

    Oh , and I am a 35 yr old guy , whom thinks ALL these young girls ( all the way up to late teens are just let out of the house ( or to be fair to parents that try , the girls change into them after they leave ) with the most ridiculous stuff on . I won’t even call it cloths !! And what about these tweens & teens in bathing suits waiving you in for there car wash fund raiser ???????? Those PARENTS should be ashamed and stoned old school style !! Makes me sick !!

  • Dot Ramsour

    I don’t know what to say about making young girls grow up to fast.  Young males harmones are growing fast–it is almost not fair  for a young girl to look sexie—it could  get the attention of men who like thoughts of young girls to become aggressive.  Also I think designers of womens clothes–some hate women.  They want us to look awful in the worse way–showing every roll of fat with tight t-shirts Showing off a preg. tummie when it should be hidden behind loose top.  It is not a pretty sight to others even though the mother may be proud of the fact she carrys child.

  • Stephreneeclark

    beautiful young girls in children’s catalogues for decent clothing is one thing.  Advertising high-fashion clothing is vain and risque, in my opinion. If she likes to play dress up at home, fine. But as a 37 year old, I see that my adult life has been spent going back to childhood things for comfort. I also gave up dressing for fashion and vanity a long time ago.  There are more important things to spend your life and your money pursuing. I also have a beautiful 15 year old daughter and was a model myself.

  • fb

    Your article seemed to have been copied and paraphrased in some parts of an article written in this website http://www.thefashionspot.com/runway-news/news/168509-thylane-lena-rose-blondeau-fashions-hottest-new-supermodel-is-10 (considering the date of publication of both your articles.) I don’t know who copied who. But plagiarism is disturbing. (sorry for the out-of-topic post)

  • Anonymous

    It encourages pedophilia by making a child look sexy and alluring.

  • Anonymous

    I like teen girls in miniskirts.

  • Morrow819

    WOW this is too provoked

  • Anonymous

    Fact: Parents like this ones should be looked at because they are not fit!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/cristen.humanimalien Lotus Humanimalien

    Fact: your opinions arent facts!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/jespurp jessica elizalde

    their family is gorgeous. and she can take a photo better then me.  let it be. let it be. 

  • Yes

    She’s stunning – and who gives a f**k about how old she is? Only Americans can make a fuss about nothing – they are the ones who are really obsessed, they see sex everywhere.

  • Dcfc97

    If people are  looking at a picture of a 10 year old girl and seeing sex, then they’re the problem, not her. She’s a very pretty girl with a world of potential in her. Let the girl model and keep your opinions to yourself. As long as she’s safe and happy doing what she does, leave her alone.

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