Yves Saint Laurent has been the most recent fashion house to cop a hiding for using a model deemed too thin. Their recent advertorial, which ran in Elle magazine in the UK, features a black and white image of a model sprawled on the flood in a cut-out dress and platforms.
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It has been banned by watchdogs in the United Kingdom and slammed as irresponsible by the Advertisement Standards Authority (ASA) for using a girl that is ‘unhealthily thin’.
This controversy has sparked debates all around the world about the issue that never seems to disappear. For a long time, fashion houses have used tall, thin models to accentuate the clothes that they have designed. This also brings up the issue of who’s responsibility it is to regulate the use of such models and many agree that it should land on fashion houses to consciously not use models who are too thin. In this case, YSL did not agree that their model was too thin, even though the UK ASA made the point of her prominent rib cage and her thighs and calves being of similar size.
YSL has been under fire before for using models deemed too thin. In the past, it has been subjected to petitions to stop the use of such women in their campaigns. The YSL model in the advert has not been named, and the ASA has pointed out that it is the techniques employed by YSL itself that cause the woman to look unhealthy, such as the contrast of platforms, the lighting and the way she is laying.
Image via qz.com
