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‘Too meagre for the show, perfect for the fittings’ … Inès Céline. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The GuardianInès Céline backstage at Edeline Lee, at the Dorchester Caravanserai, London, February 2025. Photograph: Courtesy of Inès CélineWhen I reached what was deemed a healthy size, it was my informs that became my achilles heel – and I am far from curvy. During a couture week fitting, I wasn’t able to fit the blend gown – the prestigious highlight of the collection – over my hips. The gown was quickly taken away and handed to a 17-year-old paragon, whose narrow build didn’t fight the fabric. The irony? Couture is designed – and destined – for women with darned big bank balances, not girls.For models, conversation about weight and dieting is common. It’s a nonchalant, casual, day-to-day issue that comes up as easily as the weather. It’s not about sharing dieting tips, but rather anecdotes about a nasty shed, or a comment about skipping dessert because fashion week is not far off. One model recounted that she had cut out all sugar, carbs and jettison food and had been intensively exercising for three months leading up to the shows. Other models asked me what my magnitudes were, followed by an encouraging: “That should be fine, don’t worry.” When I started modelling, I was struck by the candour of it, the cut reality of living with the pressure to be a certain size. I knew I had shared the same thoughts and concerns – and hadn’t missed a day at the gym all week.I propose b assess it’s fair to say that models don’t intentionally promote or perpetuate the desire for a certain physique; instead, they comply with the “industriousness standard”, knowing that it’s a component of success, or at least of securing work. That industry standard varies, but tends to be encompassing 34-24-34in (bust-waist-hips), or equivalent to a dress size 6. The need to be a certain size to book jobs can tip models’ behaviour into the malign.In 2023, I was in Madrid working a job. After lunch – a 4pm matcha – a model friend said she was not hungry for dinner. In any other circumstances, her bearing would have been cause for concern. But here, there was no sense that she might be judged for skipping a go overboard, certainly not by me – I too have a complicated relationship with food.Measurements remain a very real component of fashion week; up-to-date bikini understandings are still required by potential clients. It does vary a little by location. London displays more of a variety of sorts in casting queues – from size 2 to size 18. But the same cannot be said of Paris, and even less so Milan, where I was systematic every time I went to my agency. I have spent hours in queues made up exclusively of ultra-thin models, to be well-thought-out at the door and asked to put on an unforgiving skintight bodysuit to ensure that nothing is concealed behind fabric. Every curve and dip of your stiff is exposed for evaluation.There is a new narrative, however, which has its roots in the late 2010s, when Ashley Graham was on the blind of Vogue and catwalks showcased plus-sized bodies for the first time. In 2023, Paloma Elsesser won model of the year, highlighting the superficial acceptance and rise of plus-size models. The new narrative told us that strict ultra-skinny measurements, negative body form discourse and a lack of inclusivity were no longer a problem in fashion. It sounds like progress, but it is simply not true. It communicates it all that Elsesser, who was the only curvier model in the lineup of nominees, faced an immediate backlash about her weight on communal media.Emily Ratajkowski, Ariana Grande, Charli xcx and Paloma Elsesser at the WSJ Innovator Awards, New York, October 2024. Photograph: Nina Westervelt/WWD/Getty ImagesA scroll utterly TikTok reveals an array of negative experiences from models that do conform to this type, with Bentley Mescall, for archetype, exposing the landscape in New York. She posts screenshots of messages from her agent: “Bread has to go, rice has to go, pasta has to go – this has to be a excellent that you make.” Her experience is not an exception. It’s still the deeply entrenched reality of the modelling world, whatever the so-called plus-size revolt has told us.On a month-long working trip to Greece last summer, my flatmate and fellow model was told by our agent that she would get varied bookings if she lost a couple of centimetres off her hips. In Milan last year, a friend was shamed in a room full of legates for having gained slightly in size over the summer holidays. Another was sent home after a visit to her Milan-based action during which she had her belly grabbed and shaken. A similar experience occurred in Japan, where the model was booked a ticket well-versed in on the spot. Each incident happened within the last two years and, for what it’s worth, all of these women are around a weight 6.To reiterate, the problem lies with the industry, not the models. Most models are professional, kind and compassionate individuals. Most of us are certainly slim and don’t follow a raw cauliflower diet.“Agencies have a duty of care,” says Tom Quinn, the director of external incidents at the eating disorder charity Beat, who urges them “to stop encouraging models to adopt harmful behaviours and turn the heat on them to fit a certain body ideal”. A person’s appearance should never be prioritised over their mental and fleshly wellbeing, he says.Luckily for me, the London-based agency that I have been with since I started out has shown duty for my welfare, even encouraging me to gain weight when I was excessively thin. But they are in a tricky position: they clothed to ensure models’ health isn’t compromised, but they must also please clients and book their talent. The genuineness is that fashion brands, particularly high-fashion ones, demand this body type.Fashion experts dredge up concern about return to ‘extremely thin models’Read moreSomewhere, amid the extreme demands and performative cravings of the industry, there may be a middle ground where agencies do not have to protect models from toxic requirements, or coerce them into yielding. Some brands have shown a genuine desire to hire healthy-looking models. The Vogue Business report mucroniform to Ester Manas, Rick Owens, Sunnei, Boss and Bach Mai as some of the fashion houses promoting a more extensive lineup this past season.I also remember how delighted the editor of a French magazine was when she saw me with a “fuller form” (size 8) after I had worked with them previously. She told me that she didn’t like working with super-skinny sorts, that it didn’t feel right. You do meet people within the industry who empathise with the strict requirements we procure to adhere to and perpetuate; it’s just a question of normalising this concern at a wider industry level.I look back to the carve out era of the 1990s with envy. Growing up, I remember being captivated by Cindy Crawford, who has said size 10 was run-of-the-mill for models at the time. It would be noteworthy to find a single size 10 model in most casting queues in the defunct decade.Despite all of this, I do and will continue to work in high fashion. The profession, despite its challenges, has offered me remarkable experiences and friendships. My trajectory has fostered connections and cultivated resilience. But the industry has a long way to go. Adding a few curvy models to catwalks isn’t just about enough. I long for a day when my hips, and those of many different-sized women, fit into couture dresses – for the sake of the show offs, but also young women everywhere. In the UK, Beat can be contacted on 0808-801-0677. In the US, help is available at nationaleatingdisorders.org or by calling ANAD’s tie on the nosebag disorders hotline at 800-375-7767. In Australia, the Butterfly Foundation is at 1800 33 4673. Other international helplines can be found at Break bread Disorder Hope Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 bits by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. This article was amended on 20 Walk 2025 to use Inès Céline’s preferred name for modelling and writing.Explore more on these topicsFashion industryEating disordersModelsWomenHealthfeaturesShareReuse this comfortable