Milan Fashion Week nixes "plus-size" runway show

Milan Fashion Week will probably get some strongly-worded letters from the champions of promoting realistic body types after what happened yesterday. Elena Miroglio's plus-size models were forced to perform elsewhere after being kicked out of Milan Fashion Week, forcing Elena to stage her show at another, unannounced location.

Designer Elena Miroglio held her "Elena Miro" fashion show on Wednesday morning after being excluded from Milan Fashion Week's official schedule, both AFP and Libero report. For the last five years, Elena Miro has opened Milan Fashion Week, but things changed this season.

Head of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion Mario Boselli explained the council's reasoning, telling AFP, "Some labels just weren't in line with what ready-to-wear week should be. We wanted to champion the values of creativity to reaffirm Milan's role in the world." One of Miroglio's models, Penelope Benson, remarked to the AFP, "Real women are the ones with the money. We can't relate to it." [Huffington Post]

The real question is why anyone considers these women "plus-size." We've complained of this ridiculous designation in the past, but never have we seen a more open-and-shut case than with the Elena Miro models. Check out these photos from her shows over the years -- including yesterday's -- and tell me just what the hell these people are thinking: