Zara responds to criticism for using "unhealthily thin" models: "They must present a medical certificate proving their good health."

For decades, models' bodies have been under the spotlight. Thinness reigns on the runways, something that over the years has been the subject of criticism regarding these women's health and the precedent it sets in beauty standards. Following the heroin chic and size 0 trends of the 2000s, voices began to be raised about this issue, and many major companies and runways decided to champion healthy bodies.

An example of this is Madrid Fashion Week , which in 2006 established that its models had to be 1.75 meters tall and weigh at least 56 kilos , which meant rejecting 30% of the models who walked in the previous edition. Furthermore, fashion brands began to incorporate women of different sizes into their catalogs, promoting diversity.

One of them is Zara , which featured models such as Jill Kortleve, Ceval Omar, and Paloma Elsesser , three highly recognized women in the fashion world, with unconventional sizes, to present its collections on the brand's website. However, the brand has had to remove several photographs from its catalog because they showed "unhealthily thin" models with "prominent collarbones."

The clavicles of discord

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint alleging that the models' bodies were "unhealthy" and that the ads, published in May, were "irresponsible."

Of the four advertisements that were reported, the ASA considered that two should be withdrawn because they "presented exaggerated thinness," and therefore the photographs "were irresponsible. They infringed rule 1.3 (Social Responsibility) of the CAP Code (Edition 12)."

According to the body, "we considered that the low-cut design of the shirt draws attention to the model's upper chest, creating a focal point around her protruding collarbone . The style of the image made her collarbone appear to run along the collar of the shirt, making it a prominent feature. In addition, the position of her arms, as she was wearing a loose-fitting shirt , created the impression that her arms, shoulders and chest were very thin. Overall, we considered that the model's pose and clothing choice in the advertisement created an impression of exaggerated thinness ."

Another of the removed photos showed the model "standing with her arms at her sides. We felt the shadows on her legs highlighted them, making them appear noticeably thin. Her hair was in a slicked-back bun, which emphasized her head and made her look slightly gaunt . There was a contrast in the position of her arms and elbows, making her body appear slightly disproportionate . Additionally, due to the style of the dress, the model's collarbone was visibly protruding . For these reasons, we felt the styling, lighting of the image, and choice of clothing created the impression that the model was overly thin."

Zara's response

Zara stated that, in hiring these two models, they acted in accordance with the recommendations of Fashioning a Healthy Future , a report published by the UK Models' Health Commission. The brand claimed that it complied with "recommendation three" of the report, which stated that models "should provide a medical certificate attesting to their good health, issued by doctors experienced in diagnosing eating disorders." It also confirmed that both models had a medical certificate attesting to their good health.

On the other hand, they also added that none of the images had been modified , "except for minor lighting and color tweaks," and that they had not received any direct complaints about these photographs.

Ultimately, after receiving the complaint, Zara removed the specific images from the four reported ads, both those the ASA recommended for removal and those it did not.