Just as the fashion world seemed to be coming around to promoting realistic portrayals of women, designer Ralph Lauren has come under fire promoting an unhealthy aesthetic of dangerously thin women.

Bloggers have slammed the legendary American designer for an ad that shows model Filippa Hamilton in what appears to be a heavily altered photo. The ad in question appeared on Boing Boing, with a blogger noting “Dude, her head’s bigger than her pelvis.” Indeed, Hamilton, whose thin body appears to be in keeping with the fashion industry aesthetic of tall and incredibly thin, looks emaciated in the photo.

But the fashion house did not take well to the criticism and slammed the site, claiming that the use of the image was a copyright infringement. Boing Boing shot back saying it was fair use because the reproduction was being used for purposes such as “criticism, comment, news reporting etc.”

Still, despite the legal issues, we were concerned by the imagery in the photo. The message of a model who is already probably less than 115 pounds having 20 pounds digitally removed from her body is disconcerting at best. After Glamour magazine and other fashion sites have been praised for the use of plus size models, some are arguing that Ralph Lauren is moving backward.

What do you think about the image?