Guidelines for British employers of catwalk models will be drawn up in
time for London Fashion Week (LFW) in September to help them tackle "any
material size-related health concerns," an inquiry spokesman said.
In examining steps to ensure the good health of LFW models and how to
implement, enforce and assess the measures, panelists will study the
approaches of other fashion capitals like New York, Paris, Milan and
Madrid, he said.
The independent Model Health Inquiry -- composed
of model managers, designers and supermodels -- will make recommendations
that will not be binding
but are likely to prove influential.
"I will certainly be surprised if having asked us to do this they (the
fashion industry) do not seek to implement our proposals," said Baroness
Denise Kingsmill, who is chairing the probe.
"It is time, in a way, for the fashion industry to grow up," she said.
"It is a real and a very important industry and the people working
within it have to be taken seriously and have to be treated well.
"It is a very important part of the global economy," she said. "It is
an important chunk of our leisure, retail and tourism industries."
The British Fashion Council, an industry body which organises London
Fashion Week, had written to designers before a week of shows in February,
asking them to use only healthy-looking models over 16 years old.
However, it has stopped short of following the lead of authorities in
Italy and Spain by imposing a ban on the skinniest models.
