Boohoo accused of ‘Photoshopping’ size 10 model to look thinner

This goes against Boohoo’s ethos of being an ‘inclusive brand’

Ella Thorpe took a screenshot of the 'Photoshopped' image displayed on Boohoo (Ella Thorpe)

Fashion retailer Boohoo has been accused of Photoshopping the waist of a model on its site in order to make her appear thinner.

The observation was made by Ella Thorpe, a 25-year-old from Manchester, who’d been shopping online when she noticed that something was amiss when looking at pictures of a model wearing a denim skirt.

Ms Thorpe realised that one of the photos had been digitally altered to make the model’s waist look slimmer when showing the size 10 option for the skirt, with the original unedited photo also displayed on the site.

Ms Thorpe, who works as a paid social manager, was left outraged after discovering the alteration while scrolling through the app last week.

“So supposedly boohoo.com are about empowering #AllGirls, yet they feel the need to significantly Photoshop the waist smaller on a size 10 model?” she wrote on Facebook.

“Next time, maybe avoid uploading the original photo to your app as well as the edited one…”

In Ms Thorpe’s opinion, Boohoo’s choice to alter the shape of one of its models is sending a very damaging message to people, particularly young girls and women, who frequently shop on the site.

“I think as a brand with such a big influence on young women in particular, who stock clothes for a range of body types (including plus size), Boohoo shouldn’t be altering the body shape of any of their models,” she told The Independent.

“The fact they felt the need to edit the waist of a size 10 model is completely unacceptable.

“Many women of all ages feel pressured to look perfect and I think a lot of people (men included) do edit their body shape now when they post photos on social media because of this.

"In 2017, it was reported that the average UK dress size for women was a size 16. If a brand like Boohoo that claims to represent and support ‘#AllGirls’ is slimming down a model who is three dress sizes smaller than the UK average, what kind of message does that send out?”

Ms Thorpe was referring to Boohoo’s #AllGirls campaign that was launched last year with the aim of promoting diversity and inclusion.

However, when the campaign was first announced, the retailer was heavily condemned for not featuring any disabled, plus-size, trans or older women in its promotional video.

Since Ms Thorpe made her complaint, Boohoo has removed the Photoshopped image of the model from its app and site.

However, despite stating that it would look further into the incident raised by Ms Thorpe, the fashion brand hasn't directly responded to her.

“We thank you for bring this issue to our attention,” a Boohoo spokesperson told HuffPost UK.

“At Boohoo our customer commitment is to provide great fashion for all shapes and sizes.

“We want to do all we can to use our voice to promote body positivity whilst expanding our ‘fashion for all’ offer even further. We are looking into what has happened in this instance."