A PROMISING model has been left with the 'body of an alien’ it's claimed after a department store used 'heavy-handed' airbrushing techniques.
Slim Tao Okamoto’s image was Photoshopped by the company so she looked unnaturally thin, with almost straight-lined hips.
Nordstrom initially denied that it had slimmed the model’s waist but later admitted it had gone too far.
In a statement Nordstrom said it had ‘misspoken’ when approached about the pictures of Miss Okamoto, who was modelling an orange Ralph Lauren polo shirt.
It said: ‘For the sake of clarity the orange T-shirt photo was indeed retouched: we smoothed out the model's nipples, removed a few wrinkles from the pants and shirt and punched up the shirt's colour.
‘In addition ... we also smoothed out her left hip (something that we neglected to originally mention).
‘After taking a closer look at the final image, we think the smoothing was a bit heavy-handed and we're disappointed with the result.
‘There have been times when we have "thickened" or added weight to a model or "thinned" a model by smoothing out bulges that may distort the shape of the clothes.
'It's not a common practice for us, but we have done it on a case-by-case basis.’
But by doing so Nordstrom has dragged Ralph Lauren into another Photoshopping row.
Last year the fashion house was forced to apologise for distorting model Filippa Hamilton's size-eight frame to advertise its Blue Jeans label.
Critics have long pointed out the toxic effect of putting such unobtainable goals in front of women, especially young girls.
'Size zero' models have been accused of contributing to the development of eating disorders and magazines have been condemned for doctoring cover photos of celebrities to make them look skinnier.
Japan-born Miss Okamoto, considered a rising star in the world of modelling, was airbrushed after she posted to advertise the £100 Ralph Lauren Black Label Mercerized cotton polo shirt.
The picture sparked outrage on internet forums.
A post on the Huffington Post blog said: ‘You wonder why the clothes never look the same on you? It's not the anorexic model, but the retouching to make the piece look perfect, like it never will on a human.’
Another posted that she ‘looks like one of those tall beings in Avatar’ whilst another wrote: ‘She looks suspiciously like someone from Area 51’.
Miss Okamoto is represented by Ford Models in New York and Premier in London, two of the world’s most prestigious agencies.
She was described as the ‘girl of the moment’ by teen Vogue in its January issue and has been in adverts for Ralph Lauren and Benetton and featured in Harper’s Bazaar, V Magazine and Japanese, French, American and Russian Vogue.
Such is the concern over the effect of stick-thin models that the Royal College of Psychiatrists has called for warning symbols to accompany airbrushed pictures of models and celebrities to help combat eating disorders.
The leading mental health body said a kite mark on digitally enhanced photographs would raise awareness of how often such manipulation takes place and help stop people trying to achieve 'unattainable physical perfection'.
Ralph Lauren and Miss Okamoto were unavailable for comment.
dailytelegraph.com.au 6 Jul 2010
Large companies LIE to the general public all the time in the name of 'marketing'.
This is especially rife in the cosmetic industry.
In legal terms the model is able to follow suite in the form of defamation of character.
NO governing bodies nor laws penalise these companies
First the company says it did NOTHING. THEN later it says it DID.
HOW CAN THE PUBLIC BELIEVE IN THE COMPANY'S PRODUCTS if they're based in deceitful advertising?
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