A "stellar cast of experts" from the fashion industry yesterday launched an inquiry into "size zero" models.

The line-up of some of the biggest movers and shakers in the fashion world, from model management to designers and supermodels, began investigating the health and safety plus the working conditions of London Fashion Week (LFW) models.

While recommendations from the independent Model Health Inquiry will not be binding, it is hoped they will be brought to bear on the industry.

Concerns about the health of models have been heightened since the death last year of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston from anorexia.

Baroness Kingsmill, who will chair the inquiry, said: "I will certainly be surprised if having asked us to do this they (the British fashion industry) do not seek to implement our proposals.

"It is time, in a way, for the fashion industry to grow up. It is a real and a very important industry and the people working within it have to be taken seriously and have to be treated well.

"It is a very important part of the global economy. People should not be looking at it as a fluffy thing to do on a Saturday morning.

"It is an important chunk of our leisure, retail and tourism industries."

The inquiry, due to report in September in time for LFW, should have a knock-on effect on retailers and branding procedures, Lady Kingsmill predicted.

Sarah Doukas, founder of Storm Model Management, British model Erin O'Connor and designers Betty Jackson and Giles Deacon are also on the inquiry panel.

Charlotte Clark, co-director of INCA Productions, Paula Reed, style director of Grazia magazine, Professor Wendy Dagworthy, head of the School of Fashion and Textiles at the Royal College of Art, and consultant psychiatrist Dr Adrienne Key who works at The Priory and is a leading expert on eating disorders will also take part.

The inquiry is a starting point that will shape current best practice policies but it could also signal that stronger measures could be taken, Lady Kingsmill believed.

She said: "We are going to explore what the legal obligations are both domestically and internationally.

"Certainly there are lawyers who have said they could put up quite an interesting personal injury case on behalf of a model whose health has been damaged by her working environment or on behalf of a model who has been denied work because of her model size."

Concerns about health and size issues among LFW catwalk models will come under the spotlight. The casting and selection process of models for work at London Fashion Week will also be studied.

Inquiry members will look at the effectiveness of the approaches of other fashion capitals, particularly New York, Paris, Milan and Madrid.

Guidelines for British employers of catwalk models will be drawn up to help them tackle "any material size-related health concerns", an inquiry spokesman said.

Measures to manage the health of LFW models and how they should be implemented, enforced and effectively assessed will also be drawn up.

At first glance Lady Kingsmill does not think that a hard-line "stick" approach will be needed.

She said: "I cannot see that we are going to be having a very dictatorial approach. What we are talking about here is people's health and we are hoping for guidelines and support."

Lady Kingsmill is also to meet Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.

Ms Jowell said: "A stellar cast of experts has signed up to look into the issue of health and well-being on the catwalk. It's clear that the fashion industry is taking this very seriously - as they should.

"This is a complex issue so it's right that the panel includes experts from every corner of the fashion industry and is powerfully advised.