Canadian designer Mark Fast caused controversy when he sent plus size models down the runway for his Spring/ Summer 2010 catwalk, so much so that his stylist resigned over the decision. But with top British designer Sir Paul Smith predicting that the end of size zero models is imminent and Scottish brand Pringle releasing a sarcastic animation poking fun at skinny, unrealistic models, are we set to see a rise in more ‘natural looking’ women on our catwalks?

The average woman in Britain is a size 16 and the industry standard for plus size apparel is size 18plus. With this in mind, consider that plus size models used in agencies are usually a size 10 to 14 and you begin to understand just how unreasonable this argument really is. Standards in the fashion industry are so strict that anyone who is above a size 4 or 6 is not usually considered for catwalk, and those who appear in shoots for high fashion magazines are airbrushed to make them thinner
still. This particular method hit headlines last year when a Ralph Lauren advertisement showed a model airbrushed to the point that her head was wider than her waist. This prompted Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman to question the integrity of some of the major fashion designers when she stated: “We have now reached the point where many of the sample sizes don’t comfortably fit even the most established star models.”

Other industry professionals have taken the size zero debate seriously and organizers of London Fashion Week were forced to ­­­set regulations for its models in 2006 after several died as a result of extreme dieting. These regulations however,are apparently still being overlooked and the outrage caused by Fast’s use of plus size models highlights the significance of this issue. Just days before London Fashion Week opened concerns were raised by leading psychiatrists who claim that the environment created by the industry, where being underweight is normal, will prevent those with eating disorders from getting help, and will only serve to encourage young girls into this potentially dangerous routine.Models weigh on average 23 per cent less than the average woman, and with statistics so high it is important that changes are made within the industry now in order to prevent girls being subjected to this distorted ideology that being underweight is healthy and attractive. The Clothes Show Live have made the first step in this direction with the announcement that they are banning size zero models from their catwalk in December.

With plus size now representing over a fifth of all womenswear sales in the UK and over 60 percent of women saying that they have trouble finding clothes that fit, it is necessary for the fashion industry to seriously consider the use of plus size models on its runways. Apparel sizes are becoming larger and there is an increasing demand for a stronger fashion element in plus size clothing. This,along with a change in attitudes to sizes, is adding to the shift in the way people are thinking about fashion and unless the industry begins to change its attitude towards this issue the subject will continue to dominate catwalks worldwide.

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Words by Rachel Howard. Images from London Fashion Week official website.

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