By Carolina Schwartz SAO PAULO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's fashion season got under way this week with new rules to keep the youngest and skinniest models off the catwalk, following the death of a model from complications from anorexia. But super-skinny models will still rule the roost despite concerns about their health, local fashion insiders said. "People can fool themselves and imagine that, with new rules, designers will cast plumper types for a winter collection," Pati Madureira, a booker for Ford Models, said. "But it's impossible for a girl with a 36- (or) 37-inch (91 or 94 cm) butt to look good in tightly cut winter collections." The anorexia-related death last November of 21-year-old model Ana Carolina Reston drew widespread media and fashion industry attention in Brazil, a source of many of the world's top models. Many young girls in Brazil dream about a career on the catwalk, inspired by the international success of Brazilians including Gisele Bundchen. In the wake of Reston's death, organizers of Brazil's top fashion events -- the Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo Fashion Weeks -- have decreed that models must show proof of their good health with signed medical certificates. Models younger than 16 -- including two of Brazil's top models, Camila Finn and Bruna Sotilli -- are banned from the events. The Rio fashion week began on Monday, and the scene shifts to Sao Paulo starting January 24. Some other fashion capitals have adopted similar changes aimed at combating anorexia among models. In September, Spain banned super skinny models in its fashion week, and Milan, Italy followed last month, with local fashion houses keeping underweight models out of their shows. Journalist Maria Prata of Vogue Brasil believes Brazil's new rules will at least make people think about a subject that many in the fashion industry would rather ignore. Anorexia affects around 1.7 million people in this Latin American country, especially girls between ages of 11 and 14. "It's a shake-up for the whole industry. I hope the agencies are more careful with the girls, who are very young and need to be better monitored," she said. The absence of top names, such as the 15-year-old Finn, will cause significant financial losses for Ford, but Madureira still sees the decision to ban young models as positive. "With so many commitments and responsibilities, they end up missing an incredible part of their lives," she said. Eloysa Simao, head of Fashion Rio said the problems affecting models are part of wider issues. "People need to be aware about the dangers of disorders caused by behavior in society. Anorexia is one of them and then there's panic disorder and many others."
