Fashion. Why SO small??

I often hear the question, in regard to the size of models, why are they so thin? It really does get down to the "business" of it all. The types of materials used at the highest levels, starting with couture, boggle the mind. Haute Couture is at the top level of hand customized fashion design and clothing construction made by a couture design house. The word is French for 'high sewing'.
In France, the label "haute couture" is a legally protected label. A certain number of formal criteria (number of employees, participation in fashion shows etc.) must be met for a fashion house to use the label; a list of eligible houses is made official every year by the French Ministry of Industry. The haute couture houses belong to the professional union the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. All access is granted to the finest artisans in Europe, among them, generations of people who specialize in the making of pleats that include the use of antique systems that still provide THE best results in the hands of these people. You CANNOT make these works of art in the sizes of the "average" woman. The cost of doing so would be astronomical and is, in my opinion, not necessary. Sizing at this and every level of high fashion, is not about trying to impose a standard for women, but by the nature of the art produced, needs to be smaller so as to minimize the cost of the work.