THE catwalk waif may be losing her sway. Miuccia Prada, the most-watched trendsetter in the fashion world, has signalled a move to curvier models by choosing a busty mannequin to parade a new sweater on the Milan runway where before she had stuck almost exclusively to stick-thin girls, writes Maurice Chittenden.

Experts are predicting that Prada’s lead will be followed in Paris this week by designers responding to health concerns sparked by the deaths of three South American “size zero” models and their influence on young girls.

Lara Stone, a size 8 Dutch model with a 34in bust, was cast last week by Prada, head of the label founded by her grandfather, to model a fine-knit but virtually see-through top to show off her breasts. “The casting was personal to her,” said the designer’s spokeswoman in Milan.

The performance by a bra-less Stone, 23, was in stark contrast to the far thinner and flatter-chested models who followed her.

Paula Reed, style director of Grazia magazine who also sat on an inquiry into models’ health for the British Fashion Council, was one of those present.

“It is good to see Prada using healthy-looking models,” said Reed. “Miuccia Prada is such an influential designer that others are bound to copy her. She is a mother too so this is an important message she is sending out to the fashion industry.”

Today, The Sunday Times Style magazine gives Keeley Hazell, whose gravity-defying 32E breasts have made her Britain’s leading glamour model, her first fashion shoot.

Hazell, 21, a size 8 from Lewisham, south London, said: “I love being able to tuck into pie and mash. I love food and couldn’t bear the thought of missing it just to promote a pair of Prada trousers.”

She added: “Guys always tell me they prefer a girl with curves because it’s more natural and womanly. Generally, most guys don’t like girls who look anorexic.

“We should start promoting women like Cindy Crawford again. She maintained a career at the top of modelling for a long time while still looking curvy.”

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