Eli Lilly's sponsorship of this week's Vogue World show in Milan has drawn sharp criticism from eating-disorder charities and academics, who say the pairing of a weight-loss drug giant with fashion's biggest showcase risks presenting thinness as, once again, an aspiration — and now something achievable with a prescription.
A star-studded show, an unusual backer
The fifth edition of Vogue World, overseen by editor Anna Wintour, took place in Milan on Tuesday night, with Gigi Hadid and Jennifer Lopez among those on the catwalk. But it was one of the event's sponsors that caused the biggest stir: Eli Lilly, the American pharmaceutical company behind weight-loss jabs Mounjaro and the Foundayo pill, was credited as one of the show's "fashion adjacent" sponsors.
It is not the company's first foray into fashion marketing. Eli Lilly also sponsored the 2025 Vogue World event in Hollywood, and backed a promotional video during this year's Met Gala livestream featuring actor Patrick Schwarzenegger and the label Public School.
"Something that can potentially be medically achieved"
While the Milan partnership did not explicitly name Mounjaro or Foundayo, campaigners say the optics of a weight-loss drugmaker backing one of fashion's most-watched events are hard to separate from an industry that has long been criticised for casting very thin models in shows, editorials and advertising.
It suggests that thinness is once again being positioned very explicitly as something important that we should aspire to – and now something that can potentially be medically achieved.
Markey, who studies body image, said the merging of fashion and pharmaceutical marketing was particularly troubling because it suggested prescription medication was now part of an aspirational lifestyle. Lauren Downing Peters, an associate professor of fashion studies at Columbia College Chicago, said the sponsorship showed "how normalised GLP-1s have become within the fashion industry and within culture at large".
Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at the UK eating-disorder charity Beat, called the tie-up "alarming". "We're concerned by the widespread use and advertising of GLP-1s, particularly as they can be very attractive for those with eating disorders," he said. "Given that the fashion industry has at times been known to idealise and promote unrealistic body ideals, this event being sponsored by the manufacturer of Mounjaro is a problematic association. We would encourage both the fashion industry and pharmaceutical companies to consider how they can promote healthy body types and lifestyles to the public."
"Everything begins with health"
As part of the Milan partnership, Vogue published a video titled Portrait of Progress, produced with Eli Lilly, which draws parallels between pharmaceutical technology and fashion manufacturing. "For 150 years, Lilly has been revolutionising health," a voiceover says over a montage of fashion and health-related footage. "The future has always been handmade, discovering, creating, and moving forward. Everything begins with health, and everything else is up to you."
Downing Peters said that while the video never directly mentions thinness or weight-loss drugs, it "links health as a precondition for creativity" — a framing she said was itself worth scrutinising.
A reversal in size diversity
The controversy lands at a moment when campaigners say the fashion industry's progress on size inclusivity has gone into reverse, with a return of ultra-thin casting on and off the catwalk. A Vogue Business report found that of 9,038 looks shown across 198 shows in the September 2025 womenswear collections, 97.1% were modelled by straight-size models measuring a US 0–4 (roughly a UK 4–8). Just 0.9% of looks were shown on plus-size (UK 18+) models, and 2% on mid-size (UK 10–16) models. Campaigners believe the growing use of GLP-1 drugs for aesthetic rather than medical weight loss is a contributing factor.
This week's Milan show itself featured plus-size models Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham, and none of its official promotional material referenced thinness or weight-loss medication.
The companies respond
A source at Vogue publisher Condé Nast said the partnership focused on Eli Lilly's overall brand rather than any specific drug. An Eli Lilly spokesperson said: "This sponsorship is part of our 150th anniversary — 150 years of putting health above all. Health is what gives all of us the freedom to move, explore, and be present."
In August, the UK became the first country in Europe to approve Eli Lilly's weight-loss pill. In the US, the company now holds more than 60% of the diabetes and weight-loss drug market and carries a trillion-dollar valuation, underlining how central GLP-1 drugs have become to its business — and why campaigners are watching its marketing partnerships so closely.
