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Skinny model debate explodes

Despite a world-famous Victoria's Secret Angel and many, athletic looking models walking in Alex Perry's show the skinny-model debate has exploded today.
Alessandra Ambrosio and other models in Alex Perry's Spring Summer 2014-2015 show.

The Daily Telegraph has again criticised the cast walking for Perry and the choices of other designers.

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Models, Cassi Van Den Dungen and Nicole Pollard, who are pictured in The Daily Telegraph today, appear extremely thin, but were among the minority in Perry’s show.

Alex Perry was at the forefront of the “skinny model debate” last year, sending media outlets into a frenzy over the sick-looking bodies he featured on the runway.

The Daily Telegraph spear-headed the issue with their Get Real campaign.

The thin model debate has been ongoing, and one former Vogue Editor, Kirstie Clements revisited the topic in her book – The Vogue Factor – released last March. She revealed models had eaten tissues to crush their appetites.

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But fashion insiders attending Perry’s show yesterday morning witnessed a healthier looking cast.

The Australian Women’s Weekly Fashion Editor, Mattie Cronan described the group of girls gracing the runway as mostly “fit and healthy” with Brazilian-born Victoria Secret Angel, Alessandra Ambrosio stealing the show.

“Alessandra opened the show with her striking looks and signature strut. She had the whole front row captivated, from start to finish,” Cronan said.

“The rest of the models were a mix of our top local runway talent.

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“Obviously they are still models, so they were thin, but they looked fit also.”

The concern for the health of young women walking the shows arises annually with ‘too thin’ debated between the fashion world and general public every April.

The two have differing definitions of the term.

“It’s fashion. You look at the 20s; women strapped their breasts”, said The Australian Women’s Weekly Style Director, Judith Cook.

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“It’s just a trend at the moment; it’s about bulked up men and thin brown women.

“You know the saying, ‘She’s a coathanger’. When a designer does a fit, he wants a girl he can drape fabric on. You can see how things work on a ‘coathanger’ per se”, Cook said.

“It’s more challenging and interesting for us, in our job [as stylists], to create those looks for real women. But that’s not the job of the runway.”

The Weekly understands ‘thin’ is a prerequisite held by designers for catwalk models, but the wellbeing of young women should prevail on the runway.

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Yesterday an ‘Angel’ helped the industry take a step in the right direction.

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