Home ›
In The Blogs

→ Culture, Sex and Gender

Ralph Lauren Model Fired: Too Fat

— By Michael Mechanic | Thu October 15, 2009 9:29 AM PST
—The digitally altered image

Holy haute couture! Ralph Lauren really doesn't get it. First the clothier sicced its lawyers on Boing Boing, one of the Web's most popular blogs, after a Boing Boing writer reproduced an ad photoshopped by the company's graphic artists to make its model look bizarrely skinny. An indignant Boing Boing declared a culture war against the attempted censorship, and the company eventually admitted that it had done a regrettable job on the ad.

Now, just when you thought this couldn't get worse, it comes out that Polo Ralph Lauren had terminated its contract with the model, Filippa Hamilton, back in April because she was too fat. (Hamilton is 5-foot-10 and weighs 120 pounds.) "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she told the New York Daily News on Tuesday. (See Hamilton's photo on the Daily News website to see what Ralph Lauren considers "overweight.")

According to the report, the 23-year-old model has worked for Lauren since 2002 and was distraught at being fired by an employer she'd come to see as "a second family." When the altered ad blew up online, she was surprised—and not pleasantly so—to see how her image had been distorted. "I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology," she told the paper. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy."

 Follow Michael Mechanic on Twitter.

image
If you liked this, you might also like...
image


image
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Buzz Up!
  • StumbleUpon
    • MySpace
    • LinkedIn
    • Delicious
    • Furl
    • Google
    • Yahoo
      4 Comments | Post Comment
      Get Mother Jones by Email - Free. Like what you're reading? Get the best of MoJo three times a week.
      Comments
      no profile pic for comment author

      "I think a role model should

      Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on October 15, 2009 - 10:36am.

      "I think a role model should look healthy"

      5'10" and 120lbs isn't exactly healthy, it's still underweight. I'm 5'6" and looked like a skeleton at 120.

      no profile pic for comment author

      crap. 5'10" and 120 lbs.

      Submitted by Adoannie on October 16, 2009 - 11:24am.

      crap. 5'10" and 120 lbs. makes for a BMI of 17.2. That's skeletal. I'm just under 6 feet, weigh about 150, and am plenty thin, with a BMI of about 21, give or take a little. No more Ralph Lauren for me.

      no profile pic for comment author

      I'm an oppressed member of

      Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on October 18, 2009 - 11:34pm.

      I'm an oppressed member of the undead and AM a skeleton, and you guys have it all wrong. So much ignorance and so much arrogance, but sure, he's undead, let's pick on him and have a good time.

      I'd love to be 120 lbs.

      no profile pic for comment author

      Too fat?

      Submitted by Lawyerfan (not verified) on October 21, 2009 - 11:09am.

      I've never understood why designers want anorexic models. They aren't attractive to most men and they have to be laughed at or hated by most women. So who's looking at them other than a bunch of gay designers?

      Post a comment
      Alternately, you may login to or register an account
      The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
      • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
      • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <ul> <ol> <li> <blockquote> <img>
      • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

      More information about formatting options


      Photo Essays
      SEE ALL

      Jail.org - Inmate Search
      Criminal records, instant public records & people search & current court records. www.jail.org

      U.S. Public Records Search
      Search County & State Court Records, Criminal records, Vital and Adoption Records www.PublicRecordsInfo.com

      Records.com - People Search
      Public Records and Background Checks. Instantly Search Criminal Records, Addresses and Court Records www.Records.com

      Court Records & County Records
      Find Instant Public Records, Criminal Records as Well as County Property Records Search. www.PublicRecordsIndex.com

      Mother Jones Podcast
      Get in on the conversation! We talk about culture, politics, the environment, the economy and more. Listen now!

      TalkBackTees.com
      A treasure trove of liberal wit, wisdom and quotations, from ancient to modern, on colorful, cotton tees.

      Support Independent Artists
      Amazing art, crafts, apparel, paper-goods and more. A carefully curated selection of sundries since 1999.

      FREE CONNECTIONS FOR GREEN SINGLES
      Meet progressive singles in the environmental, vegetarian & animal rights community who share your values