living out london: Feed Me, it's Fashion Week

Okay, so not yet here in London, but in my old hood of NYC the stilettos are out, and the bronzer is on - fashion week has come to the Big Apple. And while you want to think it's all about the clothes, ever since last years uproar in Milan and Madrid over "size zero" models - following the death of two South American models - the media is devoting half their time to the runways and the other half to the BMIs (Body Mass Index) of the girls teetering down them. And I have to say that I think it's a good thing.

We are daily bombarded with images on television and in print media, and whether or not we freely admit it, we compare, contrast and contort ourselves to fit the figures we're confronted with - and those figures of aspiration are generally the most unrealistic. But whatever may be said about airbrushing, the truth is that most of the models in magazines are far thinner than the average woman, even before their hips, thighs and cheekbones are taken for a ride through Photoshop. So what would happen if the fashion world united to make sure that the images we saw never went below a healthy weight range? If we stop seeing emaciated girls on the catwalk and in mags, will we really start embracing our curves? Maybe not... But it surely couldn't hurt.

And it might even help girls already in the industry. In an interview with London Lite, 22-year-old, Zimbabwean-born model, Charlotte Carter (see above), spoke in favour of the ban after being told she was too thin to appear in next week’s shows. Having battled with various eating disorders, the young model claims that it took her agency telling her to gain weight, for her to realise that she was dangerously thin.

With only five days to go until London Fashion Week, the media (yep, they be the same ones parading off skeletal girls in fashion spreads and news stories) is eager to condemn organisers for not banning size-zero (a UK size four) models entirely from the catwalk. Although, the event has seen fit to impose a minimum age limit, thereby ensuring that no 14 and 15-year-old girls will be taking to the stage next week. And there won't be any high-flyers either, with backstage drug testing also being introduced. You can almost hear their dealers revolt!

model at DKNY, Spring 2008