Controversy over the use of skinny models, generated by the mayor of Madrid, escalated yesterday at London Fashion Week, writes Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor.
The mayor's call for a ban on models with a less than l8 body mass index (a weight-to-height ratio) was backed by UK culture secretary Tessa Jowell. Milan's mayor, Letizia Moratti, threatened to follow suit as Milan Fashion Week gets under way next week.
Yesterday, a senior medical consultant in the UK, Dr John Goldin, claimed he was treating girls as young as seven for eating disorders at Great Ormond Street Hospital. He told London's Evening Standard that "images in magazines, on catwalks and in the media are having an impact".
One of the UK's top models, Lily Cole, denied allegations she was underweight. "I am fine, I am healthy, I eat," she told the Daily Telegraph.
Although Stuart Rose, chairman of the British Fashion Council and chief executive of Marks & Spencer (M&S), rejected calls for restrictions, a planned photo call with British model Erin O'Connor, who is leading an M& S model sponsorship fund of £100,000 (€148,000) for fashion week, did not go ahead. In Paris, Didier Grumbach, head of the Chambre Syndicale, condemned any attempt to impose restrictions on model sizes.
At Paul Smith's show in the Royal Horticultural Hall yesterday, the model line-up chosen by the UK's most successful designer looked more boyish than underweight. Blazers, comfortable seersucker shorts and crisp-white dress shirts were worn with hands in pockets and painted brogues.
With a witty take on contemporary urban streetwear, Smith paired hoodies with loose-fitting trousers dropped to show boxer waistbands at the midriff. Despite an appealing and sophisticated colour palette of cool blues, mustards and pistachios, the show was somehow lacking in impetus and, with the exception of a long white shirtwaister worn over white shorts, dresses were less than appealing.
Design duo Preen - who are stocked in Dublin's Design Centre - kicked off their show in the Chelsea football club. Sleek white suits, a recurring feature, appeared, but the emphasis was on defined couture shapes like pannier dresses and puffed skirts softened by delicate organza blouses. Tight and tarty flesh-toned stretch-dresses with rear zips recalled 1980s bondage gear. More alluring were the little black tulip-dresses and skirts with white organdie tops.