ASOS has become the first major brand to tell its skinny models to “fatten up” following the backlash over Victoria Beckham’s use of skeletal catwalk stars.
ASOS told several models regularly working for them to put weight on their arms and collarbones, if they want to continue being booked.
One plus-size model, said: “There are no two humans on this planet that are the same. We are all different and beautiful in our own way and it’s about time brands listened. They need to make sure that every young eye can see a role model they can relate to.”
Earlier this month,VB used stick-thin Lithuanian model Giedre Dukauskaite, 29, to model a pair of oversized glasses from her Spring/Summer 2018 eyewear range.
Giedre’s skinniness prompted one critic to accuse Posh of using “a model who looks like a teenager with severe anorexia.”
And after the photographs were released on Posh’s official Facebook page, fans were also quick to slam her for “promoting eating disorders”. Dukauskaite looks ill and dangerously thin.
The feedback ASOS gave one model agency’s booker was that their models look too small in photographs, and that they had to clamp down on using ‘skinny models’ after an online backlash when using smaller girls. However, after ASOS revealed their new approach, some models insisted that they were happy with their slender figures and were upset by the firm’s new rules. “I’ve worked for the brand before and my body shape hasn’t changed” said one girl. “It feels unfair”.
However, in the bigger picture of happiness and healthy body identity, I believe ASOS’s approach is to be applauded. Hopefully other brands will follow suit.
