Click to play videoLondon: The London Fashion Week has kick-started and it's bound to be seven days of beautiful clothes on beautiful people.
However, the beautiful people seem to be causing a stir this year as preparations for the show were overshadowed by the 'size zero' debate.
Unlike Madrid, the British Fashion Council has decided not to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18, but has encouraged designers to use healthy models over the age of 16.
And this is how some designers at the fashion week feel. "Tonight, I didn't see a size zero and I would never use a size zero in any of my shows. I think I think it's just a slightly warped description given by some extremist designers. To me, the term is somewhat replulsive," says designer Rohit Bal.
Other designers like Manish Arora say,"Freak cases happen in every profession. Look at my girls, they all look healthy, they don't look like they don't eat. I think it's just a big issue being made out of nothing."
In an attempt to spread awareness on eating disorders, BFC has invited eating disorder experts beat to distribute leaflets and helpline numbers to models.
But the mood backstage is still upbeat and no one is letting this spoil their party. "To tell you the truth, I've done a few shows in my time as a model and all the samples are made in an eight, not in a size zero," says a model at the London Fashion Week Ulia.
"There isn't a thing as a size zero in this country. As you can see, all the models are eating and drinking," she adds.
While designers and models alike, seem to think that this is just an issue that has been blown out of proportion, this time caution has been taken in choosing the models for this fashion week.
As the show goes on under watchful eyes, the British Fashion Council has so far been satisfied by the models that have walked the ramp.
London organisers have set up a task force to promote a healthy body image as this debate hopes to raise awareness on eating disorders.
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