‘Get real on mannequin sizes’ fashion shops told

MSP Dennis Robertson has been campaigning on the issue since his daughter died two years ago. Picture: Neil Hanna

SNP MSP Dennis Robertson said the size of mannequins in most high street stores portrayed an unrealistic ideal of women.

Mr Robertson has been campaigning on the issue since his daughter Caroline died two years ago, aged 18, after suffering with the severe eating disorder.

During a Holyrood debate on the issue yesterday, the MSP warned that the use of shop mannequins, which are usually a size eight or ten, “exacerbates” the conditions of people with eating disorders.

Mr Robertson said that using skinny mannequins in shops “put obstacles up” for patients recovering from illnesses such as anorexia.

He said it was “imperative” that stores do more to promote realistic images of women and that a better approach could improve public health.

Retail giant Debenhams announced last week it would introduce a size-16 dummy to reflect the size of many of its customers.

Mr Robertson, who has previously spoken out at Holyrood about his daughter’s lengthy battle against anorexia, called on the company and other fashion chains to quickly “roll out” the move to all their stores.

He said: “Mannequins in high street shops do not reflect people in our streets in terms of their shape and size.

“Eating disorders are not caused by mannequins but it exacerbates a condition where people have these eating disorders,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium said fashion stores were already using different sized models and mannequins