Thin and skinny models have, for some time now, dominated the global fashion world. Take any fashion show and you will find models with hardly any flesh over their bones walking down the ramps. Such is the fascination with a thin figure, that some of the young girls starve themselves, literally. This horific fact came to light when the 22-year Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos, died last year. In an attempt to stay thin and thereby increase her popularity in the fashion circuit, Ramos abstained from food for several days and suffered a cardiac arrest. Ana Carolina Reston, a Brazilian model, too suffered from anorexia nervosa and died.

This disturbing trend has caught the concerns of the fashion industry and measures are being planned to correct it. The British Fashion Council announced an independent inquiry into the health of the models. Its panel will examine whether designers and agencies are imposing dangerous physical standards on their representatives. British Cultural Secretary, Tessa Jowell, urged the fashion industry to keep extremely thin women off the ramps. The fashion industry seems to be divided on the whole issue of using skinny models. In September Madrid Fashion Week banned models with a BMI of less than 18 from participating in the event. However, London Fashion Week, owned by the British Fashion Council, resisted a similar ban during February this year instead urging designers to use only healthy looking models aged over 16. BFC said that it would complete the inquiry before the London Fashion Week and would submit its recommendation which can be implemented during the LFW.

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2387858.ece