Fashion
Fifteen underweight models have been removed from a Rome fashion show after they were thought to be too thin.
Italian designer Raffaella Curiel had specifically asked that abnormally thin models not to be used in his shows.
"I had to fire 15 who were under size 36 (UK size 8)," Curiel told reporters.
"One girl fainted during the trials," he said, "I had to give her a ham sandwich."
This decision comes just days after London Fashion Week announced plans to ban underage models from this September's shows.
A panel of experts have recommended that young models be removed from the shows due to the dangers posed by the insufficiently regulated industry.
The Independant Model Health Inquiry was set up following the high profile deaths of two underweight models last year.
The report also recognised the dangers of underweight models within the fashion industry.
"We have been given startling medical evidence about the prevalence and impact of eating disorders in certain high-risk industries."
However the panel has yet to reccommend a ban of anorexic models from London Fashion Week despite public pressure.
n January London Fashion Week organisers refused to agree to a ban on size zero models even after pressure from designers and MPs. As a result they lost £620,000 of funding from Mayor Ken Livingston and the London Development Agency.
Other countries are already taking action. Madrid was the first to clamp down on skinny models by banning anyone with a BMI less than 18 from its fashion week. Next came Milan, opening with a plus-size show. Italian fashion chiefs then decided all their models must carry a health certificate in order to get work.
Caz Moss
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