YSL no comment on ad ban for 'unhealthily thin' model

An Yves Saint Laurent ad has been banned for featuring a model with a visible rib cage and knees and thighs of a similar width.

The ad, which appeared in Elle magazine, featured a black and white photo of a woman described by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as “unhealthily underweight”, wearing a short black dress and high heels and lying on the floor with her eyes closed.

A reader complained that the ad was irresponsible for using a model who appeared to be unhealthily thin.

The magazine has not commented, but its former editor Marie O'Riordan agrees with the ASA's decision.

“Elle magazine ran the campaign a few months ago where they made politicians wear t-shirts that said ‘this is what a feminist looks like’ and then they run an ad like this, which really is quite a disturbing image I think. And I support the ASA banning it,” said Ms O'Riordan.

The ban comes weeks after the French Government banned models under a certain BMI to be cast, and fashion houses and ad agencies will face fines and even jail time if they hire them.

The law is part of a campaign against anorexia being pushed by the French government. Israel, Italy and Spain have also taken legislative measures to protect models - and the girls who aspire to be them - from adopting unhealthy body standards.

Yves Saint Laurent, a fashion house based in France and currently headed by French designer and photographer Hedi Slimane, who is central to the present controversy, has long cultivated a dark, edgy, rock-and-roll aesthetic which features slim, androgynous models.

Earlier this year, a campaign for the YSL perfume Black Opium was cleared by the ASA following complaints that it glamorised and trivialised drug use and addiction.