Yves Saint Laurent Advertisement Banned

Fashion house Yves Saint Laurent has had an advertisement of theirs banned for featuring an "unhealthily underweight" model.

The ad in question appeared in Elle UK magazine showed the model wearing a short, black dress, a leather jacket and high heels lying on the floor with her hands on her head and eyes closed. Her rib cage, knees and thighs of a similar width is visible through her skin.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) censured the advert upholding a complaint from a reader that the model looked too thin. In its ruling, published on Wednesday, it said YSL indicated that they did not agree with the complainant's view that the model was unhealthily thin" but did not provide a detailed response.

"The ASA considered that the model's pose and the particular lighting effect in the ad 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, particularly in light of her positioning and the contrast between the narrowness of her legs and her platform shoes. We therefore considered that the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image and concluded that the ad was irresponsible."

The ASA further ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: "We told the advertisers to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly."

In response to the ruling YSL said it did not agree with the complainant's view that the model was unhealthily thin and refused to give any further defense or justification. Elle UK told the watchdog it had no comment.

In recent years the use of skinny models has come under increased scrutiny with critics becoming alarmed over the use of advertising images that promote being thin as normal claiming that it damages the body confidence of women and girls by promoting unrealistic and unhealthy ideals. Last month, the ASA banned an advertisement for Prada featuring the young girlfriend of Hollywood A list actor Shia LaBeouf for appearing to sexualise a child while earlier this year, a campaign for the YSL perfume Black Opium was cleared by the ASA following complaints that it glamorized and trivialized drug use and addiction.