Recently, fashion company Ralph Lauren took a lot of heat because of some overzealous Photoshopping they did that resulted in an already thin model looking like a bobble head. I would show you the image but, apparently Ralph Lauren and Co. have taken issue with other websites posting the image (next to critiques) and have sent the likes of Boing Boing and Photoshop Disasters letters warning them to either take down the offending image or face legal action. Photoshop Disasters has complied, but Boing Boing is calling their bluff. You can see the offending image here.

While attacking the above mentioned websites, Ralph Lauren simultaneously issued an ‘apology’ for it’s overzealous retouching:

For over 42 years, we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body.

We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the calibre of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.

Lauren is basically saying that this incident amounts to a technical glitch and is in no way representative of how the fashion industry in general (or Ralph Lauren in particular) understands or considers the female form. There is a long, documented history of tension between the ‘ideal’ woman regularly featured in the fashion and entertainment world and reality, where not everyone is a porcelain skinned size zero.

Although  tools like Photoshop have made it easier for the fashion industry to create unrealistic and unattainable images of the human physique, contrary to what Lauren claims, it isn’t the poor use of a tool that resulted in this image but rather evolving perceptions about what constitutes beauty:

[Findings] show that from the turn of the century throughout the 1970s, the standard of physical attractiveness for women presented in the mass media became much thinner and less curvaceous … During the period from 1979 to 1988, Miss America contestants continued to decrease in body size and Playboy models maintained their already low body sizes … [This] has serious implications for women’s well-being. During the period from 1979 to 1988, 69% of Playboy models and 60% of Miss America contestants weighed 15% or more below the expected weight for their age and height category. The researchers note that according to the DSM III-R, maintaining body weight of 15% below one’s expected weight is a criterion for anorexia nervosa. Other researchers have also noted the prevalence of disordered eating among fashion models (e.g., Brenner & Cunningham, 1992) and the severe health risks associated with achieving a very thin body type. Women whose body fat falls below 22% are much more susceptible to infertility, amenorrhea, ovarian and endometrial cancer, and osteoporosis (Seid, 1989). (source)

Skeleton image by Perpetualplum.