There are many varieties of models. The models you are complaining about advertise high-end fashion. It is either couture or as others have mentioned, specifically for buyers. It is used to influence what will trickle down eventually into a store that is frequented by the masses. Couture and high-end fashion is not traditionally available in larger sizes. This is not because the designer is lazy but because couture is sewn by hand. A couture gown can easily retail for $20,000+. High-end fashion is usually just whatever is sewn for the runway show. By picking tall and skinny girls (5'9 - 5'11, approximately 105 lbs) with the exact same measurements, it is easier to prepare a collection. Imagine prepping 4 collections (fall/winter, spring/summer, resort, couture) a year and making garments in many different sizes?! As you go up in a size, different details need to be changed, you don't just make a different pattern. You have to account for a bigger chest, bigger hips, etc.
Now, when the trends that have been dictated by high-end fashion are scrutinized by buyers, they will decide what pieces are worth mass manufacturing. They will take a pattern, tear it apart, and send it to whatever third world factory will sew it. It will have less details or different stitching, anything that makes the garment easier to mass produce. It will than end up at places like H&M or carried by lower end lines at Bloomingdales or Nordstrom or Macy's. The catalogue models that will wear these clothes have greater room in terms of height/weight. They range from 5'7 to 5'11 and there are even petite models (though they are still rare). These models are typically not as skinny as runway models.
Than there are the lingerie models. Victoria's Secret and the like. Those models are the models that most men find desirable. They have curves because they're showcasing underwear! By making the model look desirable, you're making the $40 underwear she has on a coveted piece of a wardrobe. That's a lot easier to stomach for the average consumer than a $20,000 gown that showcases intricate handiwork.
Hope that explains it.
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