Model Claims Louis Vuitton Fired Her for Being 'Too Big': They 'Urged Me to Starve Myself'

Ulrikke Hoyer/Instagram

A model hired by Louis Vuitton for a fashion show in Japan claims she was fired when she arrived for being "too big."

Danish model Ulrikke Louise Lahn Høyer says she flew to Paris for fittings on April 25, where Louis Vuitton casting directors measured and booked her for the Kyoto show.

"I was excited to go to Japan and happy to know that even though I wasn't in my skinniest 'show shape' Louis Vuitton would still have me in their show," Høyer writes on Facebook. "Meanwhile I was working very hard to get my measurements back to 'right' (it gets harder and harder each time, it is like my body is working against my hard work, doesn't respond like it used to)."

By the time she arrived in Toyko for pre-show fittings on May 10, Høyer had lost an additional .5 centimeters from her hips, putting her at 91.5 centimeters (about 36 inches).

"Later that night my French agent called me and told me that Alexia [Cheval, the casting agent hired by Louis Vuitton from Ashley Brokaw Casting] had said that there had been some problems during the fitting," Høyer says. "According to her I had 'a very bloated stomach,' 'bloated face,' and urged me to starve myself with this statement 'Ulrikke needs to drink only water for the next 24 hours.' I was shocked when I heard it."

Undeterred, Høyer says she stayed in her hotel room all night as the other models went out so she could avoid being tempted by food. She adds that she woke up at 2 a.m. with hunger pains and had to eat something small at the group breakfast at 6:30 a.m.

"I was afraid to meet Alexia so my luck she didn't arrive until 8am, when my plate was taken off the table. She said good morning to me and the other girls and then looked at me, then down on my non-existent plate and up at me again. She was checking if I had been eating food," Høyer says.

Then, she got the news that her 12 p.m. fitting was cancelled.

"At 7 p.m. my mother agent from Denmark called my to tell the sad news that Louis Vuitton had chosen to cancel me from the show without the refitting and that I was going to be sent back home. Not only did I have a belly, my face was puffy now also my back was a problem, they now thought that I fitted the dress on my back differently than in Paris… (also saw this on an email at my agency when I came back) I didn't know whether I should cry or laugh," Høyer says.

PEOPLE has reached out to Louis Vuitton for comment.

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Høyer says incidents like this are all too common in modeling.

"I cannot accept the 'normality' in the behavior of people like this. They find pleasure in power over young girls and will go to the extreme to force an eating disorder on you," she says. "If this comes from them or some of the fashion houses I don't know as I've only been dealing with the casters (Alexia and Ashley on cc) … These sizes of the show pieces are made for women to have eating disorders. Go watch the show and see for yourself, even the smallest tightest pants are loose on the models they book."

"I am aware that I'm a product, I can separate that but I have seen way too many girls who are sooo skinny that I don't even understand how they even walk or talk. It's so obvious that these girls are in desperate need of help. It's funny how you can be 0,5 or 1 cm 'too big' but never 1-6 cm 'too small.' "