Models Get The Skinny On Weight Limit

Let the beautiful-but-emaciated beware: there will be no ultra-skinny models sauntering down the runway at this year's Pasarela Cibeles, Spain's most important fashion event. For the first time, the Pasarela, which begins [an error occurred while processing this directive] Monday, will bar from the catwalk models with a body mass index (a weight-to-height ratio) lower than 18.

After noticeably gaunt models at last year's show provoked outcry from health and women's organizations, the Madrid regional government, which sponsors Cibeles, pressured show organizers for the change.

"Our intention is to promote good body image by using models whose bodies match reality and reflect healthy eating habits," says Concha Guerra, Vice-Councilwoman for the Economy in Madrid's regional government. Leonor Pérez Pita, director of the Pasarela, says the show was glad to oblige. "We've always tried to convey an image of health and beauty in our shows, and we wanted to contribute, if only a tiny bit, to re-shaping the image the girls focus on when they try to lose weight."

Still, the restrictions will prevent an estimated 30% of the 50 models who participated in last year's Cibeles from walking in this year's show. Sergio Guiu, who books models for Madrid's Chic agency, says the girls are taking it hard. "No one likes something that makes it more difficult to get work," he says. "And being tall and thin-boned doesn't mean you're sick."The World Health Organization defines a BMI below 18.5 as "underweight"; show organizers allowed a little wiggle room for the naturally thin.

So will models elsewhere soon be reaching for milkshakes and doughnuts? To date, nothing suggests the major fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, or New York plan to follow Spain's lead. Even so, government officials and show organizers in Madrid believe their decision is for the good. "The problem isn't just with fashion shows," says Pérez Pita. "But if we can make sure the catwalks don't transmit an unhealthy image, then we've helped."