Twiggy doesn't think the fashion industry will ever shift its focus from ''slimness''.

The 70-year-old model - whose real name is Dame Lesley Lawson - believes fashion brands and retailers will always use thin models despite a commitment to use a variety of body shapes in campaigns in recent times.

Asked if the fashion industry needs to focus on women of all shapes and sizes, she said: ''Well, it has, hasn't it, there are so many more ads now. It's the same with older models, they're using middle-aged and older women in commercials.

''I don't think the high fashion industry will ever go completely away from slimness but I think other parts of the industry have started to use different shapes and sizes, and I think they should.''

Twiggy was discovered at the age of 16 and was known for her iconic cropped haircut, big eyes and huge eyelashes, and the fashion legend admits she would take almost two hours to practise her makeup.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, she said: ''It used to take me an hour and a half to do, I had three pairs of false eyelashes on the top. I'm amazed I could open my eyes. Then I used to paint the lines underneath. So in 1966, when I was plucked from anonymity into the madness it became, that was my look.''

What's more, Twiggy revealed she was a mod in her teens which influenced her fashion choices during the 60s.

She added: ''We'd look at all the other mods and see what they were wearing and then try to copy that. I used to make a lot of the stuff. That was the huge influence on me, fashion-wise.''