Ultra-thin models banned from Madrid fashion show

by Jenifer Scharpen (Subscribe to Jenifer Scharpen's posts) Sep 9th 2006 5:00PM

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You won't see any super-skinny models on the catwalk in Madrid at a major fashion show later this month, and it isn't because they are barely there: it's because they won't be there at all.

A Spanish health organization helped the government come up with the criteria that would determine who was too thin to participate. They did this to "help ensure public opinion does not associate fashion, and fashion shows in particular, with an increase in anorexia, a disease which, along with bulimia, is considered ... as a mental and behavioural problem."

Spanish daily ABC said that this was the first time that models had be on the heavier side of a certain height-weight ratio, but a recent Barcelona wedding dress show only allowed models who were a size 8 and up (Spanish size 38, British size 10).

I think this is excellent news, and I sincerely hope it turns into a fashion trend that never goes out of style.

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Comments (175)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)

Ginny 9-09-2006 @ 5:10PM

I think that is great news! Three cheers for the Spaniards.

Cathy 9-10-2006 @ 7:47PM

I'm all for realistic models, but I'm a size 8 after having 5 children. I have extra tummy and some chunk on my thighs. Couldn't they at least allow size 6?

gwendomama 9-09-2006 @ 6:57PM

hooray for spain! i used to be a size 4, now after 3 children i am about an 8 - i will prob be a 6 again when i stop nursing, but i don't need to see teeny models -i want to see clothing made to be worn by realistically curved women worn by the same.
and why on earth someone please tell me, is there even a size '0'???? SHAME on you, gap!

Rebecca 9-10-2006 @ 1:19PM

Well, it's about time the fashion industry woke up to reality. However, I think they would be safe with size 6 women. Before I had kids, I was a healthy size 5 with definition and curves, and by no means, looked anorexic. I think these models who look like nothing but skin and bones do not accurately represent the average body of a healthy woman.

karrie 9-09-2006 @ 9:53PM

This is going to sound odd coming from a size 18 6ft-er, but I cannot fully support this. I support helping models with eating disorders to get well, and I certainly support companies using more realistic models, but attaching a rather arbitrary size and banning those below seems unfair.

My younger sister is a size 0-2, and she has a child. She has the fastest metabolism of anyone I know and most certainly does not have an eating disorder. She has been very lean her entire life, and actually has to take care to eat enough calories to maintain a healthy weight. (we have different fathers.)

Its as painful for her to hear negative comments about her thin body and what people assume she does to look that way as it is when people incorrectly assume that I eat junk, do not workout, etc. Real progress is accepting women's bodies as they naturally are--not setting arbitrary limits of what they "should" be.

jenifer scharpen 9-09-2006 @ 11:27PM

(this is a copy of what I emailed to Karrie in response to her comment above)

I totally agree with you that naturally thin women (men, too) shouldn't be made to feel that there is anything wrong with their bodies. Same goes, of course, for people who are naturally not thin.

Two things:

1. I'm not sure what the requirements for the Madrid fashion show were. I know it was based on a certain body mass index, but I don't know the specifics. The whole size 8 and over thing came from a bridal show that was held earlier; and it looks like I should have made that more clear. So, it may be that size 2 models are in this show; IF they are a normal and healthy size two.

2. Overall, fashion models are much, much thinner than "normal" women. If you've ever met any models in person, it's something you'll notice. They are tall and they are thin and they don't look like the average woman. Some are that way because they just *are* very tall and thin. Others are working very, very hard to weigh less than what is normal for their body. I would bet that the rate of eating disorders is higher among fashion models than it is for women in the general population.

Okay, three things ; )
3. Women in the general population, especially young girls, look at these models as the standard of beauty and too often the things they do to their own bodies in an attempt to "look like that" is heartbreaking. Some of them die. It's a real problem.

So, my gratitiude toward the organizers in Madrid comes from a place of wanting to help girls and women feel good and comfortable whatever their size. I think the current fashion industry has an obligation to feature ALL types of women.

Maria P. 9-10-2006 @ 3:13AM

Wow finally; that is good to hear.

Sabrina 9-10-2006 @ 4:36AM

I'm 5'8", and I wore a size 12 before my 2 kids, now a size 14 (2 months after newborn was born, so I have time to get back to "normal") and I was always upset as a teen to see such skinny people. I know I look FINE, I'm not obese, I am very muscular from cheering and other activities. I have looked this exact way (minus the pregnancy shape currently) since I got hips and a chest, and have never had trouble getting a date, but I do agree that all the very thin (natural or otherwise) people who are in the media affect teens perception of what is normal, and what is ideal. Honestly, if you say it doesn't affect them, you must be forgetting your teen years, or you're an exception to the rule. I am excited to be seeing different shapes and sizes, just like we were excited to see different ethnicities being represented in the recent past. It's BEST to show all types, colors, sizes, etc of people!

kate 9-10-2006 @ 9:23AM

After reading your comments one thing really stands out....what your sizes are. Not if you are happy, blonde, a farmer or lawyer,love someone dearly...but your size. That to me is the saddest commentary of how many of us see our selves...as a size. I am 54 and thanks to menopause I am not the size I was but I am happy, strong, sexy to my husband, successful at my job and a good friend to my friends. I am not fat...but I am not a size!

Daisy 9-10-2006 @ 9:39AM

I think this is wonderful! If it saves one woman from an eating disorder then wonderful.

Did anyone watch "Fashion Rocks" the other night on ABC (I think)? Their models were SUPER thin! It was horrible! They looked like extra from a holocaust movie.

Sharon 9-10-2006 @ 12:35PM

Sounds to me like they are promoting healthy bodies, not scrawny, unrealistic ones. If a healthy attractive body is a size 8, great!

Depending on the bone structure, and height of the girl, healthy could also come in the size of a 4, 6, or 12, etc. Since models are generally tall, a size 8 model would still be pretty slim in my opinion, but not unhealthy. This is so encouraging.

tina 9-14-2006 @ 6:59AM

get a little perspective. models are supposed to be ideals. not only that, but they should serve as a backdrop for the clothes they wear. then we can envision our own bodies in the clothes without being distracted by a model's curves. people, use your brain and heart and understand this for yourselves and your children. should we ban the outrageous make-up they wear for fashion shows because we wouldn't wear it to the supermarket? please! what fun would that be?

Wendy 9-14-2006 @ 7:26AM

Good for them. As a mother of a daughter who suffered from anorexia since the age of 11, I applaud Spain for caring about the well-being of young girls who look to models as the "ideal" and it requiring them to be a healthy BMI.
I can't count how many models she has compared herself to (and sickly looking Hollywood women).
I hope that other country's fashion industry follow Spain's lead and promotes healthy women in their clothing.
They would be doing everyone a favor.

angie 9-14-2006 @ 7:13AM

i personally being a model myself feel this IS a good thing for the simple fact that i have seen the model sites that i belong to and the requirements that some put are absolutely rediculous!!!!i've had a child and after that i got to be 200 lbs ...i wasn't happy at that weight,i have since lost about 55 lbs since 2004 ...am not skinny but then again i never have been ... i say KUDOS to Spain for this

CLAUDIA 9-14-2006 @ 7:21AM

I dont think it matters if models are super skinny or not becuase obviously America has a weight problem (over)and if everyone wanted to look like a model we wouldnt have that dilemma now would we?. Perhaps it's just meeting your own or others expectations of a certain weigh,Whether it would be a parent/s, friend/s or someone that you are in a relationship with.At that I love everyones shape becuase if everyone was the same it would be so boring not to mention odd.

Terri Lynn Patton 9-14-2006 @ 7:27AM

In response to the ultra thin models ban, I too am in agreement. Presently, I am a size 16 and not happy with my size, but when I thought I had the best figure and was top modeling material, I was a size 9-10. Hurray for the person or persons who recognized that the ultra thin look is unnatural, is not healthy, and definitely is not reflective of the average woman. After all, who, but the average woman will make most of the clothing purchases?

Mary 9-14-2006 @ 8:59AM

Its wonderfull to have someone with common sense, that most aveage women are not going to be, a size 0.
Size 8 and up is more realistic. Thank you Spain!!

Michelle 9-14-2006 @ 7:45AM

I think this is GREAT!!!!. There are so many models out there that are way too thin. No offense to them but they look sick. Which is hurting them not helping.

Suri 9-14-2006 @ 7:44AM

I am 5ft11, and for me size eight is healthy and fit. When I am under a lot of stress and skip meals, I get down to a size 6, which is too thin, frail looking.

I think we should all strive to be healthy -- whatever the size -- and be happy with that.

I cannot for the life of me understand a size 0.Do you feel insubstantial? No height, no weight, no body? What is such a tiny, childish figure even considered desirable? Are you afraid of growing up. Even size 2-4, as an adult is freakishly thin. At size 8, I am among the thinnest people around...size 6, frail. Who is striving for these unhealthy, weak little numbers and to be malnourished.

Patsy 9-14-2006 @ 12:13PM

Too bad that fashion magazines set the beauty standards for what men should want in women, and what teens think is considered beautiful. It's a social disease.
I think what Spain did was outstanding and quite honorable. It is clear that they think outside of the box, and do not listen to the dictates of magazine editors/writers. They seem to have a grip on real beauty. Real women have curves, whether a size 2 or a size 20... Hooray for the Spaniards!!! The US could take some lessons.
Look at Nicole Ritchie... I wonder how close to death she really is...all for attempting to be fashion model thin...trying to achieve the impossible is responsible for Bulimia and Nervosa Anorexia..and all the fashion magazines contribute to this by making it seem desirable to be string-thin.