German women’s magazine Brigitte has taken a bold move; they have decided that from 2010 they will no longer use professional models in their magazine photo shoots. The magazine’s editor, Andreas Lebert stated that they had decided to use a mix of prominent women and regular readers to model in the pages of their monthly mag. One of the reasons they decided to do this was because Brigitte’s staff was sick of having to retouch professional models to make them look like ordinary women, as readers could not relate to the models’ thin bodies, and they were actually airbrushing them to make them look bigger.

Readers have been given the opportunity to submit pictures of themselves in the hopes that they may be the next Brigitte photo shoot star, and they will be paid the same amount as a professional model (probably not as much as Kate Moss, but it’s still pretty good).

The magazine’s decision has been met with both praise and criticism. Some see it simply as a marketing ploy, while successful German designer Karl Lagerfield has been very outspoken about his lack of support for the magazine. Lagerfield stated that he believed that the decision was driven by overweight women who did not like to be reminded of their weight issues. He said, ‘These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television saying that thin models are ugly.’ Harsh Karl, very harsh.

As much as the magazine wants to show ordinary women, they have made the decision that they will only show women size 8-16; Lebert has said, ‘We are not going to become a magazine for plus-sizes.’ One blogger wrote that this decision was still discriminatory, ‘It’s like the popular girls inviting your friend to be in the club, leaving you all alone.’ It seems that there will be limits on what ‘ordinary’ women in Brigitte will look like.

One of Lagerfield’s other arguments was that fashion is about dreams and aspirations, and that includes the models. He believes that women want to see clothes on an aesthetically pleasing person, rather than on someone who they may view as their counterpart. As high fashion items are unattainable for most, is it fitting that the models’ looks and bodies should be unattainable too?

Canadian designer Mark Fast is not an unfamiliar name to most fashionistas. His signature tight knit dresses are a constant edition to articles in Vogue, Grazia, Glamour and more. Although his designs have previously been associated with thin, slender figures, he’s broken that mold this year at LFW, where his team of stylists decided to tackle the ‘too thin’-catwalk-model stereotype. They hired 3 sizes 12-14 models in their London Fashion Week catwalk show yesterday.

This is not just a publicity stunt – Mark Fast is involved in “All Walks beyond the Catwalk,” a fashion initiative that endeavors to change the perception of industry standards for young designers and the somewhat elitist vision of beauty within the fashion industry. It was created by Caryn Franklin who works with designers early in their careers to “break the mold of what is seen on the runway.” Models include women ages 18-65 and in sizes 8-16.

Supporters include British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, who attended the All Walks beyond the Catwalk launch party and is infamous for her strong opinions on size zero garments. Her opinions were made clear to designers when a photo shoot with established star models resulted in them struggling to fit into the clothing in their studios.

Read more about Alexandra’s opinions and the Mark Fast LFW show from the Telegraph’s Fashion section.