Armani bans nude models

For a man who has dressed the world's sexiest women, the last thing you would expect Giorgio Armani to be is a prude.

But the Italian designer has decided to ban bare breasts and bottoms from his catwalk shows.

It comes only days after he dressed singer Beyoncè Knowles in a gold speck of a dress at the Fashion Rocks charity event.

Armani, 69, and fellow stylists Carla Fendi and Valentino Garavani attacked the fashion world's obsession with bare flesh, saying it demeaned their industry.

Valentino added: 'Fashion is drifting towards a type of woman who looks like a soft-porn star. Nowadays, you need a bare bottom even if you're just trying to launch a handbag.'

The Italians say designers are pressured to bare more to attract the attention of fashion magazine editors - since most designs are of little practical use and only 20 per cent make it into shops. That, in turn, has sparked discussion about whether catwalk shows are necessary at all.