Fashion: Minnie too skinny? She's not alone.

The Cartoon Brew website has been covering the partnering of Barneys New York, a luxury haute couture shop, with the Disney organization to feature some classic Disney characters wearing exclusive Paris fashion styles, as part of Barneys’ Electric Holiday campaign, debuting at Barneys’ Madison Avenue store on November 14.

Women’s Wear Daily reported on August 29,

When unveiled to the public on Nov. 14, Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship will feature a three-dimensional electric light show; a moving art short film in the window displays that will turn Disney’s most favorite heroes into runway supermodels and fashion regulars into Disney types, and an original score by Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino. […] The theme is a riff on Disney’s famous electrical parade, as well as the special lighting installations so central to the New York holiday season and the flashbulbs of fashion runways. […] The short film centers around Minnie Mouse’s fantasy to be at the Paris shows. There she comes across key Disney characters — Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Daisy Duck, Cruella de Vil, Princess Tiana and Snow White — all decked out in unique designer clothes as they make their way down the runway.

The announcement was also covered by the Los Angeles Times, Retailing Daily, Fashion Weekly, and others.

But the Cartoon Brew has the exclusive on the controversy that this is causing. The online Change.org is soliciting signatures for a petition to “leave Minnie Mouse alone”.

There is nothing wrong with tall thin women. There is something wrong with changing a beloved children’s character’s body so that it looks good in a dress that almost nobody looks good in - adding to the tremendous pressure on young girls and women to attain photoshop perfection. The problem isn’t with Minnie’s body, it’s with a dress that only looks good on a woman who is 5’11 and a size zero. […] Meanwhile, hospitalizations for eating disorders in children younger than 12 years old rose by 119% from 1999 to 2006 according to a report issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published in the journal Pediatrics.

The Cartoon Brew says that, “Over 135,000 people have already signed the petition.”

Several well-known fashion designers are involved in the show:

[…] Mickey is dressed by Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga, Minnie by Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Goofy by Olivier Rousteing for Balmain, Daisy by Dolce & Gabbana, Cruella by Rick Owens, Princess Tiana by Proenza Schouler and Snow White by Peter Copping for Nina Ricci.