Being one of Europe’s leading modelling agencies, Models Direct is well aware of the debates surrounding body diversity in the fashion industry.

And with the current lack of diversity on the catwalk, it’s an issue that many feel needs to be addressed at the route; education.

In what we think is a hugely positive step towards this, last week Edinburgh College of Art became Britain’s first fashion Centre for Diversity.

The announcement came after the College’s course leader worked with All Walks Beyond the Catwalk – a campaign that challenges some of the industry’s deeply rooted beliefs about the so called body ideal.

Through this collaboration, fashion students have been training on real models varying in shape and age, as well as on traditional mannequins.

All Walks Beyond the Catwalk’s Caryn Franklin said of the project: “Working with real human beings rather than training on inanimate mannequins has made a big difference to the understanding of students at Edinburgh College of Art. The fashion industry must begin to understand the power of fashion imagery, and how ordinary women feel about the current narrow and unrealistic body ‘ideals’ permeating the learning process through to the catwalk.”

Co-founder of the Campaign for Body Confidence Jo Swinson MP added: “Fashion designers typically learn their craft on super-skinny models and tiny mannequins, which just don’t reflect society’s diverse range of body shapes and sizes. The current lack of diversity on the catwalk places fashion off-limits to the majority of non-model-sized people and reinforces the damaging idea that only one body shape is acceptable.

“By encouraging young designers to connect fashion with the diverse body types of today’s men and women, and embracing reality in a world dominated by a very narrow idea of beauty, Edinburgh College of Art has made a huge step forward.”