Size zero row spills on to men's catwalk

Published on Saturday 9 February 2008 19:11

THE controversy over "size zero" catwalk models is moving from the female to the male dressing-room, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Skinny male models with waists as small as 28in made an appearance at New York Fashion Week earlier this month, when top fashion labels such as Marc Jacobs cast gaunt-looking teenagers for their catwalk shows.

Attention is now focused on the upcoming London Fashion Week, where many experts predict similarly skinny male models will parade on the catwalk. The organisers of the show insist the health of models is one of their top priorities, but they admitted no-one would be banned for being too thin.

Health campaigners fear the trend towards skinny male models could exacerbate the growing problem of eating disorders among young men.

In New York, Stas Svetlichny, who modelled clothes from the Duckie Brown collection, typified the trend towards thin models. His body mass index (BMI) of 20 is at the very bottom of the scale generally considered healthy.

Fashion writer John Davidson agreed the craze for thin models is now affecting the male side of the industry. He said: "There is a big drive towards the skinny trend in menswear, with a lot of straight lines and sharp cuts in the clothing. In high fashion, boys on international shows are much thinner than they used to be."

Davidson added that male models are not only decreasing in size, but also in age. He said: "The skinny androgynous look is in, and the boys who can achieve this look are often only 16 years old."

Atta Yaqub, a Glasgow-based model, said: "The thin look is definitely in right now, and I expect there will be a lot of skinny men on London catwalks during Fashion Week.

"Male models are being forced to conform to a thin body shape like female models, and this has resulted in a kind of skinny schoolboy look. Young male models are under a lot of pressure to be thin."

Dr John Morgan, an eating disorders specialist who has written a self-help book for men with eating disorders, The Invisible Man, warned that the trend for skinny male models could cause young men to develop a negative body image.

He said that in the past eating disorders affected gay men, but that now more heterosexual men were starting to be affected by the pressures of looking a certain way.

He said: "For the last 20 years, the rates of body image disparagement for women have been similar to those for gay men. However, research among younger male students has suggested that heterosexual men are starting to follow the same pattern, and are being affected by the pressure to look good."

A spokeswoman for London Fashion Week admitted no models would be barred on the grounds of being too thin, but she defended the size of male models and said many of them are still teenagers.