An image of the Russian-born model Valentina Zelyaeva appeared in a shop in Sydney, Australia, and on the clothing label’s Australian website, with her waist digitally squeezed to appear impossibly skinny.
It followed a case last week when a photograph of another Ralph Lauren model, Filippa Hamilton, looking so thin that her waist and hips were smaller than her head, appeared in a department store in Tokyo.
The digitally altered picture of Miss Zelyaeva appeared on the fashion house’s website alongside one of her that had not been altered that showed her with a noticeably wider waist. In the altered photograph her shoulders are clearly wider than her hips.
Wrinkles on the grey top she is modelling left some viewers with the impression that her ribs were showing.
The image was reposted on a website where it sparked bewilderment, with contributors calling it “alien” and “ugly”. One said: “I’m going to go eat a cookie. That pictures scares me.” Miss Zelyaeva, 27, who has appeared in British Vogue, was named the 13th highest paid model in the world last year by Forbes magazine, having earned an estimated $2.3 million (£1.4 million).
She has posed for Ralph Lauren advertisements since 2005.
Miss Zelyaeva is also said to be friends with Miss Hamilton and the two have appeared together in photographs for Ralph Lauren campaigns.
After websites reproduced the image of a digitally altered Miss Hamilton a week ago the fashion house initially accused them of infringing copyright.
However, one website insisted that the post fell under the definition of fair use “for purposes such as criticism, comment and news reporting,” and refused to take it down.
The fashion house apologised for the photograph of Miss Hamilton, said it had been used by mistake and was “completely inconsistent with our creative standards and brand values”.
It was not the approved photograph used in an advertising campaign in the United States.
A spokesman said: “After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body.” Miss Hamilton, 23, who weighs eight-and-a-half stone and has appeared on the cover of Vogue, later claimed she had been dropped by Ralph Lauren for being overweight, which the clothing label denied.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
When the standard’s fake, it’s not surprising that you don’t measure up – and that eating disorders make the most of the insecurity. After suffering from chronic anorexia bulmia for 17 years, I am staggered by the irresponsibility and ignorance demonstrated by these ‘influential figures’. With airbrushing and photo-shopping lying to a whole generation, it’s no wonder that eating disorders are on the up – and that more people are being struck by this devastating illness. It is only through my recovery that I’ve been able to see just how off kilter the whole body image concept has become, as finding melissa illustrates.