Jonathan Berlin interview with BBC Newsbeat

JONATHAN BERLIN INTERVIEW WITH BBC NEWSBEAT

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Mannequin supplier says size 10 is 'reasonable' for displays after Topshop row.

Writing on Facebook, Laura Berry said: "Young women aspire to the somewhat cult image your store offers, which I'm sure you're aware by your sales figures and hashtags on Instagram."

She said she was "calling Topshop out" on a "lack of concern for a generation of extremely body conscious youth".

But one top supplier says that size 10 is "reasonable" for shop windows.

Jonathan Berlin's been in the mannequin business for 28 years and reckons his models make up 60-70% of what you see in shop windows.

But he says suppliers have "an ethical responsibility" to both retailers and consumers and thinks mannequins should have a "certain look".

Jonathan says his company wasn't responsible for that specific mannequin but that they need to look good in clothes.

"I'm all for the fact they shouldn't be hyper-skinny but it should look trim and fit and like it's been to the gym I guess," he says.

"I wouldn't say clothes look better on a skinny person. I would say size 10 is an average person. We know that sizes are getting bigger, people are getting bigger. But we still feel size 10 is a reasonable, if not correct, representation for the retailer to have in their windows."

The National Obesity Forum says the average UK women's dress size is actually size14-16.

Jonathan says his firms make all shapes and sizes.

"Often we will elongate the mannequin to make it slightly taller but we will keep the proportions in the right way. We have ones just over 6ft 1in, but one thing you will see throughout is that they fit the clothes we put on them, which are size 10."

He says it's a big debate that his team look at on a daily basis when creating new products.

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