Yet another fashion designed has caused public indignation following an insulting outburst.

Proving the old adage that fashion designers are often better seen than heard, controversial Welsh designer Julien MacDonald has spoken out against plus-sized catwalk models, labelling them a ‘joke’.

MacDonald’s comments have already sparked condemnation from health groups, with the Welsh Assembly’s Cross-Party Group on Eating Disorders Bethan Jenkins saying Macdonald’s statements were particularly damaging to young women with eating disorders who looked up to models and tried to emulate them, placing undue stress on impressionable youngsters.

MacDonald, who is due to appear alongside host Elle MacPherson in the new series of Britain’s Next Top Model, said that the lack of full-figure models on the TV show was understandable, and that it would be inconceivable that a plus-sized girl could win the competition. He bluntly added that a size 14 in the dressing rooms was clearly on the wrong show, and that they would only be setting themselves up for failure. His comments came as he was trying to hype the show, which is due to premier soon, and certainly has drawn attention to the series.

MacDonald claimed the show was ‘serious’, and that it would be turned into a farce should larger women be allowed to compete, despite the curvaceous Whitney Thompson taking out first prize in the Tyra Banks-hosted American version of the same show. MacDonald has made it clear that the UK edition would have no such plans, while at the same time making it clear that this year’s entrants would be likely to suffer public humiliation during the show. This from the rather short man who once wanted Amy Winehouse as his model.

Plus size models took to the catwalk on Saturday at London Fashion Week in the newest collection from Mark Fast, the British knitwear designer. The show came not long after fresh arguments started in New York over what fashion models should weigh.

The British designer was at the center of this same issue last September during London Fashion Week. A stylist was forced to deny that she walked out of his show due to him using models that wore bigger sizes than most. British size 12 Hayley Morley was one of the models at that show, and Fast also used her in this year’s show.

Fast’s new collection was more conservative than last season, but the natural curves of the women were clearly defined. As one of the most up and coming designers in London, his collection was more practical for Autumn/Winter 2010. It featured tight dresses with detailing around the hem and neck, as well as matching swaying skirts and cropped capes.

The dispute over how much a model should or should not weigh lays heavily in the fashion industry this year. It all started with Monika Jagaciak, a 16-year-old model that wears the standard sample size 0. On the other end of the weighing scale, Coco Rocha has complained that she is being overlooked as a model due to weighing too much at 110lbs.

However, Britain is praising stores for revealing British size 16 mannequins in their windows for a limited time to show that a majority of women in the UK are between the sizes of 14 and 16. The head of creative department for Debenhams, Mark Stevens, says that they are proud to offer a variety of choices for women of every age, shape and size at their stores, and they wanted to reflect that in their windows.