Influential people in the U.S. fashion industry finally began talking openly about the unicorn in the kitchen that everyone had been ignoring: sickly thin female models. Concern had become so great that pressure to explore the matter resulted in a public discussion in February during New York Fashion Week — even if the industry chose to talk about raising awareness rather than taking concrete steps to address the problem.

After the deaths of several emaciated models, organizers of fashion weeks in several countries adopted specific regulations to block work for too-skinny models. The issue continues to get attention with women’s advocacy groups and TV show host Tyra Banks, keeping the discussion alive.

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