The decision by the organizers of a Spanish fashion show to exclude emaciated models from their runway was a fashion statement we can all appreciate.
Before Spain's premier annual fashion show, known as the Pasarela Cibeles, began Sunday, the models onstage had been subjected to the scrutiny of members of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition, as well as an obesity expert from a Spanish hospital.
The 68 models who tried out last weekend had to step on scales and have their height measured. The models' body mass index was then calculated and compared with the World Health Organization's standards of malnourishment.
Five of the models didn't make the cut, but even more may have not even bothered showing up. The show's organizers claim that 30 percent to 40 percent of last year's 200 applicants weren't even invited.
The move has caused a buzz in the fashion industry, with modeling agencies claiming that the rules are unfair to healthy models that happen to be ultraskinny.
The Spanish legislature - outspoken about anorexia and bulimia in the past - may be the source of the conflict.
Reacting to estimates that as many as 1 million Spanish women suffer from an eating disorder, the country's lawmakers have made recommendations that measures be taken to promote a healthier body image.
With the mayor of Milan reportedly mentioning that she may impose a similar ban on Milan's famous fashion week, which begins Saturday, the debate surrounding the controversy should only continue to intensify.
While the number of people suffering from eating disorders in the U.S. is harder to pin down, it is undeniable that negative body image is a pervasive problem in America.
Some nonprofit groups estimate the number of women with unhealthy body-image views at almost a third; psychological surveys have revealed that women typically view their body type as being larger than it actually is.
It would be hard to write off the influence that airbrushed billboard models and pencil-thin, heroin-chic runway models have on adolescents and women.
The socially conscious and health-minded self-regulation by Spain's fashion experts is one trend we can all hope catches on in the wardrobes of every future fashion season.
