Former Spice Girls member and fashion designer Victoria Beckham is being criticized for perpetuating and glamorizing unhealthy body standards through her new eyewear ad.
On an Instagram post, the 43-year-old showcased newest eyewear line from her own fashion brand featuring a really thin model. The fashion icon described the glasses as emulating a "feathery-light, fresh, and modern look," but the same could be said about the woman in the photo.
Underweight Is No Longer In Fashion
"A model who looks like a teenager with severe anorexia is the face of the #VBEyewear 2018 summer collection," Amanda Foreman, a biographer and historian, commented on Twitter. "This is the reason why every study done on social media and advertising calls the threat to young girls' mental health 'dire.'"
"My 7 year old daughter think she's 'fat' & that being skinny is attractive," wrote a mom on the social media site. "She is not fat, not overweight and is gymnastics obsessed. I hope Harper is taught that it's what's inside that matters not how you look? How are girls going to feel normal with this sort of advert?"
Harper is Beckham's only daughter with husband, David Beckham. She is 6 years old.
"That poor model looks ill, not a good precedent for aspiring models or current models," criticized another woman. "Not a good role model they need to eat cakes please!"
The backlash against Beckham's model comes at a time when many women are rejecting unhealthy body standards and outright sexist advertisements. Last month, designer brand Jimmy Choo made headlines because of a TV spot that featured Cara Delevingne being catcalled by random men on the street.
In France, the government even passed a law banning extremely thin models from working in the fashion industry. The country considered to be the center of fashion also decreed that advertisements should be labeled if the model was digitally altered.
Several fashion and beauty brands such as Dove, Brandy Melville, and Old Navy have started employing models with realistic body types. Missguided stopped airbrushing stretch marks and cellulite from its catalog.
Second Offense
This is not the first time that the singer has been criticized for using extremely thin models to promote her fashion brand. In 2015, she has also received criticism for the "skeletal" models that walk the runway.
She argued then that her casting director made sure that the girls are perfectly healthy before they sign them to her show. She also fired back at her critics saying that people on social media can be mean at times.
Back to work! Start the year with new frames from the Spring Summer 2018 #VBEyewear collection inspired by 1970s retro classics and updated for a feathery-light, fresh and modern look. Available at https://t.co/z8jKj9nMGH and #VBDoverSt. #VBSS18 pic.twitter.com/SDq0onL2EJ
— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) January 11, 2018
