Remember how, during the past few fashion weeks, there's been such a to-do about the health of female models? In 2006 in Madrid, designers were ordered to select only runway models with a healthy body mass index and officially banned from using any that set an unhealthy example for young women. This was followed by political efforts in other cities, including New York, to institute the same kind of rule. Designers and buyers alike took sides in the debate. Well, it's been a while since we've talked about the issue, but we're wondering whether it might be coming up again this season. As many fashionistas are winging their way back to New York from the Milan shows today, we're hearing that there's buzz about the size of the models. The male models.

In this week's Italian menswear shows, as you can tell from scanning through New York's extensive photo galleries, there was an emphasis on the super-skinny. "The models did look more like stick insects than usual," texted one fashion guru while idling on an airport runway waiting to come home. "Even Dolce & Gabbana [who often favor overmuscled hunks] had slightly more slender models!" This is a city that made headlines for plastering itself with cautionary billboards of a naked anorexic woman before last fashion week, too. We're not saying any of these guys are unhealthy (we'll wait until the swimwear shows start to really start judging), but they've certainly gotten that "colt look" going. Kate Bosworth would kill for those legs!

European Menswear Shows [NYM Fashion]