UK advertising watchdog bans YSL advert with 'unhealthily thin' model

Britain's advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said Wednesday it had banned a magazine ad promoting French fashion house Saint Laurent because the model featured was "unhealthily thin".

The black and white photograph, showing the model lying on her back on the ground in a short skirt, tights and platform heels, was deemed "irresponsible" by the Advertising Standards Authority.

It said the pose and lighting drew particular focus to the model's chest, "where her rib cage was visible and appeared prominent", and to her legs, "where her thighs and knees appeared a similar width, and which looked very thin."

"We therefore considered that the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image and concluded that the ad was irresponsible," the ruling said. The ASA intervened following a complaint after the advert appeared in Elle magazine.

Saint Laurent, formerly known as Yves Saint Laurent, said it did not agree that the model looked unhealthily thin, but did not provide a detailed response to the watchdog. The ruling means the ad must not appear again in its current form.

French lawmakers voted earlier this year to ban ultra-thin models due to concerns about the promotion of "unhealthy" body image, in a move that drew condemnation from modelling agencies.

Spain banned models below a certain body mass index following the 2006 death from anorexia of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, while London, Milan and New York fashion weeks have tightened rules on child models. (AFP)