Model at London Fashion Week 07

An initiative to banish “size zero” models from Britain’s catwalks has been abandoned after other fashion capitals refused to follow London’s lead.

The planned requirement for models to obtain a doctor’s certificate proving that they were in good health had stong government support. But it was feared that models would boycott London Fashion Week, and New York, Paris and Milan said that the measure was unworkable.

The Chambre Syndicale in Paris thought health certificates for models lay outside its remit. In Milan the Camera Nazionale della Moda preferred self-regulation and in New York, the Council of Fashion Designers of America did not believe that such regulation was allowed under US working practices.

Steven Kolb, executive director of the New York council, said: “We looked at things like doctor’s certification and body mass index and decided that, for us, it wasn’t the appropriate recommendation. We felt it was wrong to force a girl to have a physical examination, especially because the signs of a problem aren’t always obvious.”

Given that each season of London Fashion Week generates about £40 million in sales, there were also heavy financial pressures at stake. London is still seen as the lesser sibling of the four fashion weeks, which run consecutively next month, leaving it in a weak position to force change.

So, no ultra thin models, no show. No show, no money. Simple.

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