Tanning goes beyond the pale

Have suntans washed up on the catwalk?

While fur was the hot topic in the fashion world last winter, it's skins of a very different kind which look set to ignite another row this summer.

Despite health warnings about the dangers of sunbathing, style commentators are predicting that bare and bronzed is set to overtake pale and interesting as the season's essential look.

Coming hot on the heels of the Latin craze which swept the charts and the catwalks in 1999, pundits say "Brazilian couture" will soon be all the rage.

Fashion's golden girl: Gisele Bundchen

At the forefront of this movement is supermodel Gisele Bundchen, according to Debbie Hyams, beauty editor at Marie Claire Health & Beauty.

"The tan has made a massive comeback this summer. Super Brazilian babe Gisele has made that St Tropez deep 1980s tan fashionable again."

The Brazilian's "healthy" look has even reportedly won government approval.

Bronze bombshell

The Cabinet Office is said to be poised to ask fashion magazines to promote "fuller-figure" models like Ms Bundchen, over the "waifs" blamed for inspiring eating disorders in young readers.

Despite being slammed by such luminaries as President Clinton, the so-called "heroin chic" which marked 1990s fashion certainly cannot be blamed for encouraging excessive sunbathing.

Pale rider: Kidd swaps catwalk for horseback

Britain's Kate Moss and Jodie Kidd have both long endured criticism that their pale looks set an "unhealthy" example. Kidd has even stepped down from the catwalk, vowing to spend more time with her beloved horses.

Could the "superwaifs" soon be put in the shade by more sunkissed models?

Dr Halla Beloff, an expert of self-image and presentation from the University of Edinburgh, says such dramatic shifts are to be expected.

White out

"Fashions are simply a function of getting bored with what has gone before. But this really is a mistake."

The Imperial Cancer Research Fund says nearly half of Britons go on holiday expressly in search of a tan, ignoring the risks of developing skin cancer.

"If you asked doctors and skin care experts, they'd say they wished the dead-white 'Geisha' look would come into fashion," says Dr Beloff.

Turning Japanese: A safer style?

"The pity is that when you get a suntan you do 'look' good."

This unfortunate contradiction has not been lost on many of the nation's fashion editors.

Writing in the Times, Karen Homer exalted the "maritime look" saying: "Clean, fresh navy and white stripes have a timeless appeal and complement a suntan and windswept hair to perfection."

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, is equally keen to point out colours which "set off a suntan" or "suit a British pallor".

Sun down

Ms Shulman does, however, have reservations about her own sunworshipping.

"Like all addictions, it doesn't make sense. And, like all addicts, I reckon that I'm one of the ones that can get away with it," she has said.

Donatella Versace refuses to be put in the shade

The Express says the bronzed flesh trend has been given a boost by Donatella Versace.

According to the paper, the designer is championing the charmingly entitled "Miami bitch" look, whose revealing garments favour the tanned of limb.

Professor Anthony Quinn, consultant dermatologist for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, says the suntan as a style statement may only have a short shelf life.

Hide your tan

"We have to differentiate between long-term trends and a short-term blip. The fashion world is very fickle and in a few years pale skin will come back into vogue again."

Mr Quinn doubts glossy magazines and catwalk shows will derail the campaign to highlight the dangers of sun exposure.

Beach boy: Leo's also going for gold

"It does dilute the public health message, if the fashion world promotes suntans as a 'healthy' look, but I don't think it can obliterate the message."

For those of us unwilling, or unable, to brave the sun's rays, Marie Claire's Debbie Hyams says there are safer ways to get a fashionable tan.

"The best tan is a fake one. About 80% of skin ageing comes from sun exposure. To avoid premature ageing keep your face out of the sun and use bronzers or a self tan to fake it."

Bottle it

Ms Hyams says her favourite fake tan, "gives a wonderfully realistic 'just got back from the Bahamas' shade of brown without the sun damage".

Want a tan? The bottle may be better

If you're pale skinned but unwilling to hit the bottle, you might consider marketing your pallor as a sign of nobility and refinement.

"Suntans are a relatively modern trend," says Dr Beloff. "Until World War I no lady would have wished to have a tan. Only navvies and fishwives would have had tanned skins."