Wafer-thin women are the latest casualty of the economic downturn in Australia, modelling agency executives said on Wednesday.

"Brands are being very cautious and going with what is safe," Scene Models proprietor Vikki Graham told Sydney's Daily Telegraph. "For women, that means there's a bit more of a focus on curves."

Scoop Agency owner Ursula Hufnagl agreed, saying that in these grim times for retailers, modelling demand had shifted from skinny young things to older women with more representative shapes.

"The market is changing, and while there'll always be a market for that aspirational model, a bit of reality is setting in," she said.