LONDON, United Kingdom – Fashion designer Victoria Beckham is being criticized by featuring a “sickly skinny” model for her latest eyewear campaign. An overwhelming response from various social media platforms called out the former Spice Girl member to stop promoting eating disorders by using super skinny models.
Beckham posted two photos of the 29-year-old Lithuanian model, Giedre Dukauskaite, an ultra-skinny model, promoting a pair of oversized vintage eyewear from the fashion designer’s Victoria Beckham Eyewear Spring Summer 2018 selection. The images are shared on Beckham’s Facebook page and Instagram account. The posts are populated with raging comments on how the fashion designer sets a poor example for children by featuring a skinny model, which may lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.
One user commented that people like Victoria are the reason why children have complexes and develop eating disorders. Another user wrote that a lot of boys and girls will somehow see that being skinny is successful when they view these kinds of advertisements. The user further added that the fashion industry should feature models that look healthy. Another comment stated that the eyewear did not catch the attention of the audience as the “sickly skinny” model became the focus.
On the other hand, Beckham’s fans defended her by commenting that the clothes, lighting, and the model’s height could have made her look thinner than she actually was. Other fans also responded that the theme depicts a light, feathery, and modern look.
In 2015, Victoria Beckham justified her starved-looking model choices due to the growing rage against featuring ultra-thin models. She revealed that her casting agents were in touch with the agencies of the models to make sure that all the women were healthy. She also stated in her interview with The Telegraph that the models she hired are thin and young. However, it does not mean they are ill. Beckham sending rail-thin models in the runway sparks the ire in New York Fashion Week 2015.
This is not the first time Beckham has been hit with a backlash for featuring ultra-thin models in photo shoots and catwalks and for being involved with anorexic content. In August 2017, a restaurant in England featured the former Posh Spice as a skeletal cartoon in one of their advertisements due to her slender figure. Moreover, the restaurant also declared her as an “Anorexic Fashion Icon.” Beckham’s representative considered the ad as a legal matter.
Victoria is a 43-year-old English fashion designer, model, singer, and businesswomen. She was dubbed as Posh Spice by Top of the Pops and was a former member of the all-female pop group, Spice Girls. She is married to former professional footballer David Beckham in 1999.
Victoria debuted as a model back in February 2000 on the catwalk for Maria Grachvogel.
The Victoria Beckham label was recognized as the designer brand of the year in the United Kingdom in 2011, and the former Posh Spice has become an internationally recognized fashion designer and style icon for the past decade. Victoria Beckham admitted that she suffered from anorexia the first time back in 2001, wherein she described her eating disorder as being obsessed with her appearance, BBC News reports.