Aren't you too young to model?

That's the question critics are asking after seeing 10-year-old posing for fashion magazine

That's the question critics are asking after seeing 10-year-old posing for fashion magazine

She reclines among leopard print pillows, her rouged lips pouting at the camera. But shockingly the model in these highly sexualised pictures is only 10-years-old. The provocative images of Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau, who is tipped as the next big thing on the fashion scene, are causing a storm of controversy with campaigners furious that a child so young should be displaying the sexual allure of someone twice her age.



For the photo spread of Vogue Paris, Blondeau was styled in the haute couture and mimicked the sultry pout and steely gaze popular among models more than twice her age.u00a0 The fashion industry's interest in a younger generation of consumers and models is nothing new, but Blondeau's seductive photographs ignited concern that she is part of a growingu00a0-- and disturbingu00a0-- trend of sexualising girls at too young an age.

"The research clearly shows that the fashion industry affects girls and women's images of themselves and their self-esteem if they do not meet the industry 'image' that is currently in vogue,"u00a0 Paul Miller, said an associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University.

"Even the very young are quite conscious of media images of what is 'pretty' and desirable." Such images also raise concerns about child predators, he added. "Any creepy child pornographer could plead 'artistic licence'", Miller said. Even at 10, Blondeau is hardly a new face, as the model reportedly got her start for Jean-Paul Gautier at age 5.u00a0The model is the daughter of a soccer player Patrick Blondeau and Veronika Loubry, current fashion designer and former TV presenter.

Teen idols
Blondeau isn't the first child super model. Elle Fanning (13)u00a0 is the face of Marc by Marc Jacobs, while True Grit star Hailee Steinfeld is the latest face of Miu Miu. US celebrity Kim Kardashian's young sister Kendall posed for a swimsuit cover at the age of 15.