LONDON, Oct 26, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Maria Grachvogel, a British fashion
designer and owner of a London boutique, said she has had trouble finding the
size 10 models she prefers.
Grachvogel put on her first show in five years in London this week, The Guardian
reported.
"I have always been someone who would request that model agencies send me their
curviest girls," she said. "But this time even they were too tiny to fill a pair
of size 10 trousers and make them look great."
In 2006 and 2007, several European countries, including Britain, tried to
counter the trend of increasingly thin models. Plans to require health checks
for all models and to ban girls under age 16 from modeling were not put into
effect because of fears the industry would simply boycott London.
The standard for European models is believed to have shrunk from size 8-10 to
6-8 in the past five years.
"There is no doubt that in the past few years the girls at the top end have
become thinner," said Sarah Doukas, founder of the Storm agency. "You'd have to
be a fool not to notice it."
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2008 by United Press International