Size 12 woman told she was too big by model agencies will compete for Miss England title
By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 3:30 PM on 11th June 2008
- Source Article -An aspiring model who was rejected by leading model agencies for being a size 12 has beaten 200 other girls to be crowned Miss London.
Leah Green, 22, will next month compete for the Miss England title with regional finalists from across the country.
Today she told how she was rejected by several model agencies, despite being two dress sizes smaller than the average British woman. Her experiences follow the debate over the trend for size-zero models - equivalent to a British size four.
"I have tried to get into modelling," she said. "But I have been turned away as I'm apparently too big to be a regular model. I've been told I'm too fat and I need to lose weight. One agent told me I would have to work hard to achieve the gaunt look he was after.
"If you have to be the size of Victoria Beckham or Girls Aloud to even get a look in, then it just isn't for me."
One of the agencies that rejected Miss Green, of Primrose Hill, North London, over her size was Models 1. Only a plus-size agency showed any interest.
The London College of Fashion graduate, who works as a design assistant at French Connection, said the industry was fixated with thin models and was responsible for many girls developing eating disorders.
"I helped out with London Fashion Week last year and many of the models looked like they were about to keel over and die," she said.
A spokeswoman for Models 1 said it did not employ models larger than size 10, but it was not the agency that labelled Miss Green "fat" or told her to lose weight.
Storm Model Management also rejected Miss Green but its owner said it was not because of her size.
Sarah Doukas said she had not been aware of Miss Green's case but added: "I think she has a fantastic figure. We have four girls on our books who are more than a size 12. If she was rejected, it might simply be that her look wasn't right for us. I'm shocked that anybody would say such terrible things."
Miss Green hopes to offer women an alternative role model by competing in Miss England. "I saw it as a chance to get my message across," she said.
The Miss England final takes place on 18 July at the Troxy, in Stepney, London.
Picture of the gal.
This girl is very very pretty; and this article pisses me off. I know this was back in June, but the point still remains - the fashion industry is sick! I mean seriously, one of the most identifiable women in history that took up a timeless beauty is Marylin Monroe! And did she look anything like that, no! She looked real, real hips real bust and real waist. And everyone lopped it up! What the heck happened!?
This industry destroys the image of what a woman should be. And it must stop.
I do NOT want people killing themselves to become "models". They look terrible. And most of the guys... nay... almost all of the guys I have talked to find that disgusting. I don't want people to become like this.
That is not what it means to be a model. Especially not a fashion model.
This is the winner of Miss England 2008.
Her smile is hideous and I like the gal above a WHOLE lot better.
Her eyes are ugly and lack any sort of passion or light. There's something about that I absolutely despise and I get the feeling that if I was to meet this person in real life, I would hate her.
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