Slim, but not ultra-thin as fashion show displays model behaviour after outcry

Published on Monday 12 February 2007 00:07

SIZE zero models were conspicuous by their absence at London Fashion Week yesterday following an outcry over bosses' refusal to ban ultra-thin girls from the catwalk.

As protesters gathered outside, the first three collections at the prestigious event featured models who, while very slim, did not look anorexic.

Organisers, the British Fashion Council (BFC), claimed that yesterday's launch vindicated their decision to stop short of imposing a ban and instead ask designers to use only 'healthy-looking' models. But eating disorder experts were divided over the issue with some backing protesters' calls for stick-thin models to be barred.

The ongoing controversy coincided with a decision yesterday to reject five "too skinny" models from appearing at forthcoming Pasarela Cibelesas fashion show in Madrid under the organisers' recent pledge to bar overly thin women from the catwalk.

In London, Dublin-born designer Paul Costelloe's collection began the week-long show yesterday, followed by Caroline Charles and Ben de Lisi.

Following the event, BFC chief executive Hilary Riva said: "What I think we saw there were great models. Very tall, and there wasn't one of them which I thought looked... excessively thin."

Size zero, the American equivalent to a UK size four, is said by critics to be the same size as clothing for eight-year-olds. Concern over size zero models escalated worldwide after South American model Luisel Ramos, 22, died from a heart attack minutes after stepping off the catwalk during Uruguayan Fashion Week last year. Her death led to bans at shows around the world including Madrid, New York, and also in Scotland where the Edinburgh Fashion Festival barred excessively thin models in a move to promote "glamour, not anorexia".

After the BFC refused to follow suit Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, hinted that the government might use its powers to impose a ban on size zero models at all British fashion shows. However, experts on eating disorders are split on the issue, which has led to the BFC setting up a task force to develop a voluntary code of practice for the fashion industry.

At the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust Eating Disorder Unit, one of the largest centres of its kind in the UK, specialists repeated demands for an outright ban. Lubna Mohammad-Dar, a senior psychologist at the unit, said yesterday: "If that is happening [designers using larger, healthier models] that is brilliant, but I still think the British fashion industry needs to step up now and take a ban into consideration, as I know New York and Milan have done."

Stressing the influence which skinny models and other famous figures have on ordinary people, especially young girls, she added: "It's not just models... but celebrities, too. They all have a big impact because they are all role models."

But Beat, the Eating Disorders Association which is joining the BFC task force, said a ban was pointless. A spokeswoman said: "A ban is not the answer. Size zero is not helpful, but seeing a size zero model does not cause somebody to become anorexic. It can be a trigger, but it's not a cause."