In a bid to promote general health, Spain's top fashion show - the Pasarela Cibeles - has rejected a number of models for the reason that they are too skinny.
The unprecedented decision was made as part of a voluntary agreement with the Madrid regional Government, said Jesus del Pozo, a designer who is part of the Association of Fashion Designers of Spain.
The Association wanted models at the show running from September 18-22 to project "an image of beauty and health" and shun a gaunt, emaciated look. For this reason, it preferred fuller-figured women as role models for young girls.
Last year's show Madrid Fashion Week stirred protests from medical associations and women's advocacy groups because some of the models were bone-thin.
This year, with the Government's intervention, organizers of the pageant used a mathematical formula to calculate the models' body mass index - a measure of their weight in relation to their height - and 30 percent of the women failed the test.
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