I survived as a model in the 90s, the comeback of the size 0 obsession is dangerous

When I recently saw photos from Paris Fashion Week, I felt my blood run cold.

The French capital presented more than 100 designers and almost 5,000 looks.

Sophie Ander felt her blood run cold when she saw 1990s fashion making a comeback

A model on the catwalk for Yves Saint-Laurent in 2021Credit: Rick Gold/Capital Pictures

It's reminiscent of Jodie Kidd's look from back in the day, even though the model has recently spoken about the extreme lengths models went to to stay slim — It’s reminiscent of Jodie Kidd’s look from back in the day, even though the model has recently spoken about the extreme lengths models went to to stay slimCredit: Rex Features

Of those nearly 5,000, only THIRTY-NINE were considered curve or plus-size.

From Chloe to Victoria Beckham and Yves Saint Laurent, designers unleashed hordes of heroin-chic skinny models onto the catwalk, in a cavalcade of pronounced thigh gaps and razor-sharp collarbones.

It felt like the nineties all over again.

As a model who became famous at the time, I was right in the middle of it.

Between leading a high-profile Wonderbra campaign for Gossard and walking the runway for Vivienne Westwood and Ralph Lauren, I saw firsthand how damaging the size-zero obsession was.

This was the decade of cigarettes and addiction.

Size 12 was plus size, and girls quietly fell into anorexia and bulimia while officers turned a blind eye – until it became a problem.

Jodie Kidd recently spoke about models of our time who go to great lengths to stay thin, from eating cotton balls to taking speed.

It was a surprise to me – I’ve never seen this before, but girls were encouraged to be a size zero.

I was only 16 when I walked the catwalks of Paris for the first time, with my adrenaline pumping.

It was great fun, but really it’s no wonder these girls look exhausted; there was barely time to eat, not that you would even want to.

While I survived on a diet of coffee and cigarettes, I viewed food as ‘bad’, and there was no information telling me otherwise.

Love Island host Maya Jama looks stunning in a black mini dress at Paris Fashion Week

Size six, with 34 inch hips, I would never fit into the heroin-chic category and of course I was aware and hypercritical of my body.

I can still vividly remember the hundreds of eyes that followed me down the catwalk, and to this day I can’t weigh myself, I can’t bear it.

Kate Moss during a Vivienne Westwood fashion show during Paris Fashion Week at the timeCredit: Rex Features

And a Gucci look from this decade that looks suspiciously similarCredit: Camera Press

I remember having a measuring tape wrapped around my waist and male officers telling me they had to lose weight to stay the same size I was advertised as.

Today that would be seen as abuse, but at the time it was part of the job.

If your chart said you were a size zero, you had to measure size zero.

It may sound cruel, but that’s what we signed up for.

In 2009, I changed my priorities and my entire lifestyle. I focused on nutrition, health and fitness and found a good balance.

I’m now 46 and although I’m still a size six, I’m mentally and physically healthier and have never been happier with the way I feel about myself.

Meanwhile, the fashion industry seemed to be on its own journey towards embracing body positivity.

In recent years, runaways have become noticeably more diverse, with plus-size models like Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham fronting Vogue, and Valentino being praised a few years ago for sending size 10 and 12 British models down the catwalk.

We’d come so far in learning to love our bodies, but now it seems like all that progress could be undone.

I have three stepdaughters and would be devastated if they looked at those photos from Paris Fashion Week and thought they should look like that too.

I constantly ask them not to see women on social media and runway shows as the norm.

This model at a Victoria Beckham Ready to Wear fashion show could have come straight from the 1990sCredit: Getty

The same goes for this look from Maison ChloéCredit: Getty

So many children today have body dysmorphia because people edit their own bodies into shapes that are impossible to achieve.

Stars like the Kardashians have suddenly lost their curves, while social media has been awash with thigh gaps and protruding hipbones in low-rise jeans.

TikTok may have banned the hashtag #thinspo, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t content under another name.

So how can we stop the full return of size zero?

In addition to attracting more plus-size models, the industry also needs to pay attention to models’ extreme schedules and how they can manage their health.

I’d like to think that agencies these days don’t knowingly cast models with eating disorders, and that they would offer encouragement to seek support from medical professionals and nutritionists.

These girls are not livestock, they are human beings, and they have a duty of care to give them the support and education they need about their bodies.

Take it from someone who’s been through it: a return to the thinness of the ’90s would be a disaster for both the fashion industry and girls across the country.

Today, diversity should be a given on the catwalk, not a novelty.

It’s time to turn the clock back to 2024 and celebrate every body, not just one.