A Selfridges fashion advert featuring an “unhealthily thin” model has been cleared by the advertising watchdog after it sparked a complaint.
An email from the department store in January showed a model standing side on in a long blue dress.
But one reader complained that the model looked "unhealthily thin" and challenged whether the ad was socially responsible.
Selfridges said the woman was not positioned in a way intended to exaggerate her slimness, adding that the loose fit of the dress would distort the actual size of any model regardless of their size.
The store said that while they accepted the model was thin, the general public's perception of weight and whether or not an individual looked unhealthily thin was a subjective matter.
In a ruling, the Advertising Standards Authority accepted that the image emphasised the model's slenderness through her pose and the style of clothing, but said she appeared to be in proportion and not “significantly underweight”.
It said: "We considered most people, including young children and women, would interpret the ad as focusing on the design and fit of the dress, rather than on desirable body image.
"We considered that, although the model was slim, she did not appear to be unhealthily thin or significantly underweight and therefore concluded that the ad was not irresponsible."
Selfridges welcomed the ruling but pointed out "for clarity, that this wasn't an advertisement but a fashion image sent to selected customers by email".
Denise Hatton, chief executive of the National Council of YMCAs, a founding partner of the Be Real Campaign, said: "We've seen positive advances in the fashion industry over the last few years, including from Selfridges themselves, which shows that there is a shift towards more responsible advertising and portraying of diversity.
"However, the recent advert is another example where a slim body is still favoured over others, despite the fact that it doesn't reflect the majority of customers.
“Idealising a body type that's unobtainable for most people can lead to unhealthy methods of weight loss.”
