Fashion site stuffed for using 'unhealthily thin' model

Fashion retailer Motel Rocks has been forced to pull two paid-for Facebook posts after featuring a woman who made Kate Moss – famous for saying “nothing tastes as good as skinny looks” – seem like a plus-size model.

The first post featured the model wearing a pink dress getting out of a car. The post included the caption “Shop our ‘Rose Flock Pale Pink’ print on site now”.

The second post featured a model wearing a halter neck dress. The post included the caption “Shop our weekly drops of the hottest Spring pieces on site now”.

Both ads showed a still image, which when clicked played a video.

But five complainants, who believed the models appeared to be unhealthily thin, challenged the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate whether the ads were irresponsible.

In its ruling, the ASA said the model’s legs in the first ad looked very thin, with her thighs appearing to be the same width as her lower leg, and out of proportion with the rest of her body.

It added that the impression was exaggerated by the ad’s lighting, the angle of the image and the position of the model getting out of the car.

Fr the second ad, the ASA said the cut of the neckline of the dress placed emphasis on the model’s left arm and shoulders. It considered the position of the model’s arm made her arm and shoulders appear very thin, with the model’s bones in those areas appearing prominently. We also considered the angle of the model’s left arm made her upper arm appear noticeable thinner than her elbow joint.

The watchdog banned both ads after concluding they made the model look unhealthily thin – and were therefore irresponsible.

Motel Rocks, which specialises in vintage and printed women’s fashion and clothes, said it had taken action to remove the images.