The story behind size zero: Former Vogue Editor

Models with size zero figures are one of the most controversial aspects of fashion magazines, and the fashion industry. This has been a topic that continues to inspire endless debates.
Models have always been carved out on the basis of how young they are and how thin they are. A fit model is one who is used in the top fashion designer workrooms, as the body around which the clothes are designed. So, in order to stay in that slender and lean figure,models starve themselves or even go under the knife. Some of them even think it is normal to pass out every day, sometimes even more than once.
It is a good thing that our society is understandably concerned about the portrayal of overly thin models, and unrealistic messages being sent to young women via fashion journals. But, if you are looking around for the person to be blamed, fashion magazine editors are in the direct line of fire, but it is way more complex than that.
For some bizarrely scary reason, the models of top fashion designers are preferred to be young, 6ft tall and with a body like a prepubescent boy. The notion that the ideal body shape used for a collection should be girl on the verge of hospitalisation from starvation is frightening.
At the end of the day, it is a vicious cycle. When a model with a few extra kilos fails to get into a sample size on a casting, she gets criticised by the fashion agency. She starts to diet, loses weight, and is admired for how good she looks. But instead of stopping there, and trying to maintain it with a sensible diet and exercise, she goes on and loses some more. And no one is ever going to tell her to stop.