Last week, The Wall Street Journal, and various other media outlets, …the story of Ali Michaels being cancelled form a show in London after she …five pounds. Many were disturbed, including District In8, were slightly agitated by the news—concerned about the message this was sending about the industry and its influence over the public’s perceived notions of beauty. However, the truth is, the fashion industry, as a whole, does not entirely bear that responsibility. And more importantly, which is the larger societal issue – anorexia or obesity?

More recently renowned fashion designer and the head of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, gave an interview for Hong Kong’s Prestige magazine in which he mentioned the size of models. Asked about his opinion of ‘size zero’, Lagerfeld replied:

"This is a subject I won't discuss. You know why? In France there are a large percentage of young girls who are overweight and less than one percent are skinny. So let's talk about the 25 percent who have a weight problem, or are overweight. We don't need to discuss the less than one percent. Anorexia is nothing to do with fashion."

The artistry in fashion dictates that models are thin for a reason – to allow the designer’s creations to shine, not the body wearing them. Duly noted is the argument that it makes no sense for designers to have slight models parading in clothes that will be sold to an audience where the average buyer is about 5-6 dress sizes larger. But the important thing to keep in mind is that most runway looks are not literal interpretations of what will be distributed to stores for public consumption. It is by nature what is in the theory – a model.