An article out of Vancouver, Canada caught my attention today and I felt compelled to write about it. The story was about a 22-year-old girl who has just been signed by Guess to star in its ads for Guess Watches. The model was awarded the job after winning an international model search.

As it turns out, the model, Serinda Swan, had all but given up on her dream of modeling after being told my agencies that her body was too curvy for the runway. She is five-foot-eight and wears a size 27 jean. Swan refused to compromise her health and her body image to fit the mold. Her instincts paid off - Guess boss Paul Marciano liked her look and instructed her not to lose an ounce of weight.

One can only hope that this is a sign of changes being made in the fashion industry. When fashion houses like Guess are promoting the use of models with healthier body images perhaps others will follow suit. It is pretty clear that size zero will always remain the norm for runway modeling, but let’s face it – 99 percent of the population doesn’t wear runway fashion anyway.