LONDON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Maria Grachvogel, a British fashion designer and owner of a London boutique, said she has had trouble finding the size 10 models she prefers.
Grachvogel put on her first show in five years in London this week, The Guardian reported.
"I have always been someone who would request that model agencies send me their curviest girls," she said. "But this time even they were too tiny to fill a pair of size 10 trousers and make them look great."
In 2006 and 2007, several European countries, including Britain, tried to counter the trend of increasingly thin models. Plans to require health checks for all models and to ban girls under age 16 from modeling were not put into effect because of fears the industry would simply boycott London.
The standard for European models is believed to have shrunk from size 8-10 to 6-8 in the past five years.
"There is no doubt that in the past few years the girls at the top end have become thinner," said Sarah Doukas, founder of the Storm agency. "You'd have to be a fool not to notice it."
