Entertainment

Rapturous applause for the thin legged catwalk

Luisel Ramos floated down the catwalk last month to rapturous applause from fashion mavens and front-row celebrities, she thought she'd reached a new career high.

The already skinny 22-year-old had been informed by her model agency that she could "make it big" if she lost a significant amount of weight.

So, for three months she ate nothing but salads and greens and drank only Diet Coke in an attempt to reach the elusive 'size zero', so coveted by the fashion world today.

Minutes after stepping off the catwalk, after complaining she felt unwell, Luisel dropped dead from heart failure. The ultimate fashion victim.

Today, as London Fashion Week kicks off, the size zero model debate has reached epic proportions. The question on everyone's lips is not what the new skirt length will be for the coming season, but what the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the model wearing it will be.

This is calculated by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by your height in metres squared.

A BMI of 18.5 or below is classed as underweight by the World Health Organisation.

Sparked by a ban at the recent Madrid catwalk shows on girls with a BMI below 18 (a model who is 5ft 9in tall would have to weigh a minimum 8st 11lb to work), the Mayor of Milan is calling for a similar ban at the upcoming shows in his country.

Letizia Moratti is urging the fashion industry to change its stance on using "sick-looking" models, and asks the movers and shakers within it to promote a healthier body image to young Italian women.

It's a move that one might have thought would be welcomed in the UK, following recent reports that anorexia and eating disorders among British women have reached shocking levels, with one in 100 women suffering from them.

And last week, there was mounting speculation that London would, and should, follow suit.

But, remarkably, as Lifestyle has discovered from exclusive interviews with designers preparing their London shows, this simply isn't the case.

In fact, designers, models and industry big-wigs are making a point of speaking out against the size zero backlash.

Hilary Riva, chief executive of the British Fashion Council (BFC), organiser of London Fashion Week, was the first to refute claims that London should follow suit.

"The BFC does not comment or interfere in the aesthetic of any designer's show," she says. Stuart Rose, M&S chief executive and a former chairman of the BFC, is of the same opinion. "I am very wary of knee-jerk reactions," he explains.

"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.

"It is not a question about size specifically; it is a question about health."

As M&S is one of the main financial backers of London Fashion Week, what did anyone expect? Everyone, that is, except the majority of designers accused of perpetuating the trend by casting ultra-skinny girls in their shows.

Only a couple have bravely voiced an opinion. Nargess Gharani and Vanya Strok of Gharani Strok, who are showing their Spring 2007 collection this afternoon, have said:

"We like to make clothes for a more womanly figure. For our models, the average [dress] size is eight to ten."

However, many of those scheduled to show their new collections on the London catwalks this week have been careful to issue non-committal "no comment" responses to requests for their opinion on the subject.

While none want to condone the measures taken by some women - including fasting and over-exercising - to fit a so-called ideal, there is a deafening silence over the issue of actually banning thin models.

You can almost hear the fashion world closing ranks.

Yesterday, as a flurry of casting sessions were being held in designers' studios across town, most of those sending models down the runway this week were unwilling to put their head above the parapet, afraid of upsetting the all-powerful model agencies who could make - or break - their shows.

Some, however, spoke anonymously to LifeStyle.

"I have to make my samples in a size eight," said one.

"If I make them any bigger so I can use models that are more shapely, no one will use the samples in the fashion magazine shoots afterwards because magazines nearly always use size eight-or-under models.

"I cannot afford to lose that potential. "Sample sizes are an industry-wide standard that will evolve slowly as the look changes - which I hope it does. "But for the time being we must conform to the stick-thin image.

Another designer even criticised the public, who he says, are hypocritical when it comes to body shapes and sizes of models and celebrities.

"On one level, we're vilified for using thin models on the catwalk. But women are the first to bitch about anyone who dares have an ounce of flesh hanging over their waistband.

"For me as a designer, I would never knowingly use a model who was anorexic, but the simple fact is that we employ these girls as moving coat-hangers.

"We're not looking for sex appeal or to hold a mirror up to the woman on the street, we're trying to shift clothes to the store buyers, and I personally think that a slender figure is the best way to show them off."

(BBC News)

Whitney-Bobby marriage comes to an end

The tumultuous marriage of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown which withstood drug addiction, Brown's numerous arrests, the decline of Houston's once-sparkling image and domestic abuse allegations is coming to an end.

A publicist for Houston confirmed to The Associated Press that the Grammy-winning, superstar singer had filed for divorce from her husband Bobby Brown, after 14 years of marriage.

Publicist Nancy Seltzer declined to reveal where or when Houston filed the divorce papers, and said the singer had no statement to make.

"I can just confirm that she has filed for divorce," Seltzer said Wednesday. The couple, who live in Alpharetta, Ga., have one child, a 13-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

When Houston and Brown wed in 1992, the match seemed to outsiders to be a mismatch. Houston once one of the best-selling singers in history was a glamorous, pop superstar with a super-clean, princess-like persona, whereas Brown, who rose to fame as a member of the boy band New Edition before striking out on his own, was a sometimes coarse R&B singer with a more streetwise image.

But as the years wore on, it would become hard to determine which one was more troubled. Though Bobby Brown best known for hits like "My Prerogative" and "Every Little Step" would be arrested numerous times for drugs and alcohol, Houston's own battles with substance abuse sullied her image.

Together, the two were a tabloid editor's dream. When Brown was released from a stretch in jail a few years ago, an ecstatic Houston greeted him by jumping into his arms and throwing her arms and legs around him before a throng of fans and media.

And in the now infamous 2002 ABC interview with Diane Sawyer, an erratic-sounding and wan-looking Houston, with a profusely sweating Brown by her side, admitted dabbling in drugs but denied using crack, then uttered the now famous phrase: "Crack is wack."

The couple separated for a time a few years ago, but their marriage endured, despite rumors and speculation. Their life was put on display last year with Brown's reality series, "Being Bobby Brown" on Bravo. The show actually made Brown look like a stable influence, while a jittery Houston was on display; the couple often crudely talked about their marriage and love life.

But earlier this year, the speculation of a possible split intensified.

Brown's sister made headlines when she alleged in a National Enquirer interview that Houston was addicted to crack. She also supplied photos of what she said was Houston's bathroom, littered with garbage and evidence of drug use.

Recently, however, Houston has made attempts to clean up her public image.

On Tuesday night, she attended a public event with cousin Dionne Warwick and mogul and mentor Clive Davis in Beverly Hills. And she is working on an album of new material; she hasn't released a record since 2002.

Her musician husband recently reunited with his old soul group New Edition for a show at July's Essence Musical Festival. The show got mixed reviews from the audience when Brown jumped suggestively around the stage and made vulgar remarks about his sex life with Houston.

(KTVU)

Who is this rape trio?:

Father, son and brother

Federal marshals arrested bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman and two relatives early Thursday morning at his home on Oahu.

The arrest involves Chapman's capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster three years ago in Mexico. Luster was wanted in connection with a series of rapes.

Mexican authorities arrested Chapman, his son Leland and brother Timothy on kidnapping charges. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.

The high-profile case launched Chapman into celebrity. Chapman now has his own reality TV series on the A&E cable channel.

Chapman's publicist, Mona Wood, released a statement to the media on Thursday morning.

"This is obviously a very upsetting time for the Chapman family. Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is a true modern-day hero. He arrests the bad guys he is definitely not one of them. He shall be vindicated," Wood said in the statement.

Mexican immigration authorities issued an alert for Chapman and two relatives after they failed to show up in court. The judge released them on bail on the condition they show up every Monday to check in with the court, according to Mexican authorities shortly after Chapman left the country.

(KTVU.GM)