Fashion

Stella McCartney Decided To Use An Extremely Thin Model On Instagram And People Are Pissed

by Gillian Fuller
Stock

The fashion world is notorious for offering a skewed view of beauty. Historically, only thin, tall, white females could achieve success as a model.

The industry has changed, a bit — regulations restricting underage and underweight models in certain magazines and on the runway have helped improve the standard model image — but it is still far from perfect.

Unfortunately, the modeling industry still reveres thinness, which, for aspiring models, often promotes unhealthy eating behaviors to achieve unrealistic body types.

Most designers try to stay away from the too-thin model for fear of public backlash, but one designer recently learned just how passionate the industry is about the complex and deep-rooted relationship between “fashion” and “skinny.”

Designer Stella McCartney recently posted an Instagram featuring an extremely thin model wearing a top from the brand’s Summer 2015 collection. The photo was captioned:

Worn Well! X, Stella.

The designer is now facing serious backlash, as commenters took to the photo-sharing app to criticize the designer for her poor choice in casting the model, calling the image “appalling,” “disgusting” and referring to the model as “very ill.”

While it’s generally unfair to assume the model in question is suffering from an eating disorder (which is what the comments suggest), it is true she’s extremely thin.

Followers began a campaign to #UnfollowStella in light of the image, posted during Paris Fashion Week, which led McCartney to delete the photo and repost with a different model.

The designer also issued an apology, stating,

We should have been more mindful… it was a quick snap done backstage that was misleading….We can only apologize if we offended anyone.

H/T: Daily Mail, The Independent, Photos Courtesy: Instagram/ Getty Images