"We signed on a guy last week who is 16, tall, skinny, almost androgynous. He grew up in Broadmeadows and is the type of guy who would have been picked on his whole life as being quite scrawny and almost effeminate-looking.
"Now he will feel good about himself for the first time ever. Finally, he will feel, 'You're not a freak'."
Melbourne's market - mostly catalogues and ad shoots - still suits an athletic build, but designers and retailers are increasingly on the hunt for a hungry, underfed look.
Anderson argues this trend has taken the pressure off male models, who can now happily "stay their runty selves" rather than have to work at getting buff - a pitch that is hotly contested by body-image specialists.
"The types of guys being used now are way more reflective of the general population. Whereas 10 years ago, it was Adonis types with ripped (prominent) muscles and six packs," he says.
While, according to statistics, nearly two-thirds of adult men are over their healthy weight, there are plenty of naturally scrawny men out there, stepping out from the shadows and swimming about in their skinny jeans and Britpunk T-shirts.
Boki Milinkovic, 19, was street-cast for a fashion show for indie label Material Boy when he was in year 12 at school.
Since then, this 66kg uni student (6.3 feet, or 190cm tall) has worked his skinny butt off for other alternative labels such as Alpha60 and Mjolk, which has a following among frail but well-groomed bands including Franz Ferdinand and Scissor Sisters, as well as the scraggy rockers from Jet.
