Is super skinny back? UK sees rise in complaints over thin models

The banning of excessive road trend adverts which featured fashions who regarded “unhealthily skinny” has led trade specialists to warn of a return to the tremendous skinny pattern.

The aesthetic characterised by fashions with hole faces and protruding bones was seen within the Nineties and early 2000s however in more moderen years been pushed apart to permit house for the physique constructive motion which embraced curves.

Nevertheless Zara, Subsequent and Marks & Spencer have all had adverts banned in latest months over fashions who “appeared unhealthily skinny”. The promoting watchdog has instructed the BBC it has seen a “particular uptick” in complaints about such adverts.

The Promoting Requirements Authority (ASA) stated in 2025 it had acquired 5 – 6 of those complaints per week however within the two weeks after July’s M&S advert ban it had greater than 20.

In 2024 it acquired 61 complaints about fashions’ weight but it surely solely had grounds to research eight.

The figures are tiny however it’s one thing the watchdog is preserving an in depth eye on, together with cracking down on unlawful adverts for prescription-only weight loss drugs.

ASA tips state that advertisers ought to be certain that they do not current an unhealthy physique picture as aspirational.

Mannequin and activist Charli Howard wrote a viral open letter after being dropped by her modelling company for being “too large” regardless of being a UK measurement six to eight.

A decade on she says: “I feel we’re on the cusp of seeing heroin stylish return.”

The phrase heroin stylish was used within the early Nineties, when some fashions have been extraordinarily skinny, pale and had darkish underneath eye circles harking back to drug use.

Ms Howard says the excessive road adverts are as worrying as photos being shared on social media as “thinspiration”.

In June, TikTok blocked search results for “skinnytok” – a hashtag which critics say directs individuals in direction of content material which “idolises excessive thinness.”

“Some girls are naturally skinny, and that is completely positive. However intentionally hiring fashions who seem unwell is deeply disturbing,” she stated.

The ASA in all its latest rulings, didn’t deem any fashions to be unhealthy. Within the case of Subsequent it acknowledged that in other shots of the same model she appeared healthy. As a substitute it stated the pose, styling and digital camera angles made every of the fashions within the retailers adverts seem thinner.

M&S stated the mannequin’s pose was chosen to painting confidence and ease and to not convey slimness. Subsequent stated the mannequin, whereas slim, had a “wholesome and toned physique”.

Zara, which had two adverts banned final week, stated that each fashions had medical certification proving they have been in good well being.

The ASA stated that shadows, poses, and a slick again bun coiffure had been used to make the models appear thinner.

“Lighting positively performs a job – it will possibly carry out cheekbones, collarbones, and ribcages,” Ms Howard stated.

“After the physique positivity motion of the 2010s, it was sadly inevitable trend would possibly swing again… and we all know simply how dangerous it may be,” she stated.

For mannequin and yoga instructor Charlotte Holmes, the demand for thinner fashions is nothing new.

Throughout her 20-year profession she seen “a quick second of elevated inclusivity” however was nonetheless turned down for jobs for “not being skinny sufficient.”

“The physique positivity motion raised consciousness, but it surely did not totally change the system. Now, it appears like we’re again the place we began,” she says.

The 36-year-old was topped Miss England in 2012 and got here fourth in Britain and Eire’s Subsequent High Mannequin in 2010.

She believes “ultra-thin” has all the time remained the “silent normal” for fashions.

“Phrases like ‘heroin stylish’ and traits like ‘skinnytok’ present how shortly dangerous beliefs can resurface. It isn’t progress, it is repetition,” she says.

Vogue journalist and guide Victoria Moss doesn’t assume we face “heroin stylish” however as an alternative connects the pattern to the rise of weight reduction injections.

“What’s taking place in the mean time throughout broader tradition is about thinness being held up as an ethical well being crucial, pushed by the zeal over GLP-1 weight reduction treatment,” she says.

Ms Moss acknowledged many celebrities, like Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, have visibly shrunk earlier than our eyes.

However she nonetheless thinks it’s uncommon to see very slim fashions in Excessive Road trend campaigns, saying it’s “extra a catwalk phenomenon”.

“I feel in all these circumstances the fashions have been very younger, it should be extremely upsetting for them to turn out to be the main target of those banned adverts. Many ladies are naturally very slim and it’s mistaken to solid aspersions,” she says.

Simone Konu-Rae stylist and senior lecturer in trend communication at Central Saint Martins, College of the Arts, London says whereas you will need to “recognize that the human physique is available in a variety of sizes and shapes”, being skinny just isn’t essentially again in trend “it merely by no means went away”.

“Excessive Road manufacturers use runway fashions to raise their collections,” she reckons.

“The Excessive Road is saying ‘look, we’ve the identical mannequin as your favorite luxurious model, and our merchandise look simply pretty much as good at a fraction of the worth’,” she provides.

Ms Konu-Rae says the issue just isn’t that the fashions aren’t wholesome however that that is “not the norm for many individuals, and attempting to attain this physique sort could be dangerous.

“Displaying extra physique variety is vital to displaying individuals they are often trendy and trendy with out having to vary who they’re,” she says.

Private stylist Keren Beaumont says the comeback of nineties trend – corresponding to ultra-low rise denims and strappy slip tops – may very well be in charge.

“With these re-emerging traits in silhouettes, we see hip bones and chests uncovered and in step with the unique shows of those silhouettes, these are being proven on very, very skinny fashions,” she says.

“My hope is that the latest imagery from Subsequent, M&S and Zara will likely be a reminder to manufacturers to take care of the range we’ve seen in fashions lately and to not regress again to outdated requirements.”

Matt Wilson on the ASA says the difficulty highlighted manufacturers’ tasks and “the thoughtfulness they should take”.

“Societally we all know there’s an issue with consuming problems and we should proceed to ban adverts which will trigger hurt.”

If you’re involved in regards to the points raised on this article, assist and assist is on the market by way of the BBC Action Line.