"Real women have curves" started life as the title of a screenplay, and later as a movie, about five women working in a tiny sewing factory in East Los Angeles. Over the next thirty-odd years, the phrase turned up on a Dove billboard, a Zara poster, and in countless captions under photos of women who look nothing like the ones the author Josefina López wrote about in her play.

In November 2009, Women's Wear Daily asked Kate Moss whether she had a motto. She said she had loads, and offered one: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Then she added, almost as an afterthought, "You try and remember, but it never works." That second sentence is probably the most relatable thing a supermodel has ever said in an interview, and it disappeared almost immediately. The first one went everywhere.

Feeling good in your skin isn’t the same as promoting a severely underweight frame and calling it a “healthy, toned physique.” In recent campaigns, Zara, Next, and M&S crossed that line. The 2025 M&S ad emphasised the model’s pointed shoes to draw attention to her thin legs, while Zara showcased a drawn, hollow face — a look that pushes unhealthy thinness as a criterion for style.