Spain recently sent shock waves through the fashion industry when five bone-baring waifs were deemed too skinny to model at Madrid’s Fashion Week.
So what led this country to take the first real stand against the super-thin models that have for so long dominated the industry?
It may have something to do with the changing public attitude toward the fashion industry. The anti-skinny backlash is tangled up in the thorny issue of women's perceptions of body image and a silent struggle over how to rewrite the definition of an unrealistic beauty standard that has prevailed for decades.
Spain's crackdown at the Pasarela Cibeles may also have stemmed from women's advocacy groups and medical associations in Spain that protested last year that too many models looked skeletal.
The 68 models who auditioned for Madrid Fashion Week this time had been told in advance that they would be examined by several specialists. The inspectors included a doctor with Spain's National Endocrinology Society. The doctors used the body mass index or BMI - based on weight and height - to measure models. Anyone with a BMI of less than 18.5 was refused the right to work. The organisers turned away 30 per cent of women who had taken part in previous events and who would have no trouble working in Milan or Paris.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Spanish Fashion Designers, which represents those at Madrid fashion week, said the group supported restrictions and its concern was the quality of collections, not the size of models.
But eating disorder activists are sceptical of this reaction and say that in reality many Spanish model agencies and designers oppose the ban and they doubt whether the new rules would be followed.
"If they don't go along with it the next step is to seek legislation, just like with tobacco," said Carmen Gonzalez of Spain's association that campaigns for more awareness in respect of for Anorexia and Bulimia.
Britan's Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, is one of the many politicians who support such a ban in London. She said, "We shouldn't for one moment underestimate the power of fashion in shaping the attitude of young girls and their feelings about themselves."
But Stuart Rose, the head of Marks & Spencer, one of the main backers of London Fashion Week, has decided that it's up to the designers to decide the type of models they want to use.
"I am very wary of knee-jerk reactions. There is a debate, of course, just as there is at the moment about obesity, but the designers are not uncaring and we have to leave it to their own common sense. Nobody would want to use a model who was unhealthy. I would say there has been a bit of an over-reaction."
Concha Guerra, a councillor with Madrid's regional government, said: "Our intention is to promote good body images by using models whose bodies match reality and reflect healthy eating habits."
The director of the Spanish show, Pérez Pita, has now said he was glad to follow the new rule, "We've always tried to convey an image of health and beauty in our shows, and we wanted to contribute, if only a tiny bit, to re-shaping the image the girls focus on when they try to lose weight."
Says Pérez Pita, "The problem isn't just with fashion shows, but if we can make sure the catwalks don't transmit an unhealthy image, then we've helped."