The editorial director of British Vogue magazine on Wednesday said she was worried about the return of thin models, linking the trend to the widespread use of anti-obesity drugs.
“We’re in this moment where we’re seeing the pendulum sort of swing back to skinny being ‘in’ and often these things are treated like a trend and we don’t want them to be,” Chioma Nnadi told the BBC in an interview.
“We should all be concerned, I am very concerned and I know many of my colleagues are,” added Nnadi, who took over as editor of the fashion magazine in October 2023.
Ozempic, a popular diabetes treatment that also works against obesity, “has something to do with it because we’re seeing a lot of celebrities who are using it,” she said.
“I think there’s this shift in the culture around how we think about our bodies and how we address our bodies.”
Nnadi, who succeeded Edward Enniful at the head of the fashion bible, said her magazine was trying to show models of all sizes.
The use of ultra-thin models was widespread in the 1990s and early 2000s, with the so-called “heroin chic” trend embodied by supermodel Kate Moss.
Some brands have made an effort to have models of all sizes on the catwalk but Nnadi, 44, said there was still not enough diversity of size and some models were “especially thin.”
“I think it’s not something that we, as a magazine, can change on our own, because obviously the designers are making clothes that are sample size,” she added.
Lack of representation for larger sizes
Ms Nnadi also said the magazine had championed certain plus-sized models such as Paloma Elsesser and Precious Lee on its cover, but conceded there wasn’t enough representation of the kind across the industry.
A Vogue Business Spring/Summer 2025 size inclusivity report into body shapes seen on the catwalks across New York, London, Milan and Paris found that of 8,763 looks across 208 shows and presentations, 94.9 per cent were a size US 0-4 (UK 4-8).
It found that 0.8 per cent were plus-size (US 14+) and 4.3 per cent were mid-size (US 6-12).
Commenting on the report, Emma Davidson, the fashion features director at Dazed magazine, told Vogue: “For me, it was the worst season in a long time.
“It has felt like brands were turning their back on inclusive casting for a while, but this season, I sat in my seat a few times at shows where bigger models had previously been present, and it was so disheartening to see no representation – this season feels like the nail in the coffin.”
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