Fashion show bans skinny models

Organisers said they had a duty to put over the right message

Organisers of one of the world's largest fashion shows in Birmingham have banned very thin models.

Models under a British size six will not take part in the Clothes Show Live event at the NEC.

A spokesman for organisers, Haymarket Exhibitions, said they had a duty to set a good example to visitors to the December show.

It follows calls from culture secretary Tessa Jowell for "stick-thin" models to be banned from London Fashion Week.

The Clothes Show Live is one of the largest fashion and beauty events in the world.

Right message

In the past, top models such as Jodie Kidd, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder and Caprice have graced its catwalks.

Gavin Brown, head of Haymarket Exhibitions, said: "Young girls and women come to the Clothes Show Live every year and it is therefore vital that we ensure that the messages that we are sending them are the right ones.

"Girls do not need to be a size 00 to make it as a model, or look as good in the designs that grace the catwalk.

"To prove this, Clothes Show Live will see an array of gorgeous models take to our catwalks and none of them will be a 00 in size."