London Fashion Week faces size 0 crackdown

London Fashion Week is facing the loss of thousands of pounds of public funding if it does not meet health guidelines for models. UK Trade and Investment has warned that it will pull future support if its fails to adhere to rules set out by Baroness Kingsmill.

London Fashion Week (LFW) is facing the loss of thousands of pounds of public funding if it does not meet health guidelines for models. UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has warned that it will pull future support if its fails to adhere to rules set out by Baroness Kingsmill.

The recommendations laid out in the Model Health Enquiry include asking models to produce medical certificates to show they do not have eating disorders.

The British Fashion Council (BFC) commissioned the independent enquiry earlier this year after concerns about models’ health intensified following the deaths of three South American models, apparently from anorexia.

UKTI chief executive Andrew Cahn says that future funding will hinge on arrangements made in conjunction with the London Development Agency (LDA), which also sponsors the event.

London mayor Ken Livingstone has stated that he will be under “huge pressure” to withdraw LDA funding if the recommendations from the Model Health Enquiry are not implemented.

Milan and Madrid Fashion Weeks banned ultra-thin women from the catwalk this year but LFW has, so far, failed to do so.