14 DAY TRIAL // Filippa Hamilton is the Ralph Lauren model that recently found herself at the middle of one of the biggest “photoshop flops” of our times, as the media dubbed the promo photograph that popped up in a mall in Japan, showing her with hips and waist smaller than her head. Appearing just hours ago on Today with Ann Curry, Hamilton revealed she was fired from Ralph Lauren for being overweight – and that was before the incident with the photo.
For starters, Hamilton points out that she’s been working with Lauren for about eight years, during which time her weight did not fluctuate at all. She’s extremely tall and has what we know as perfect model dimensions, being a size 4. With all that, the company chose to let her go, saying she had gotten “too large” for the sample clothes and could, therefore, no longer fulfill her contractual obligations. Hamilton is not thinking of suing right now, although she does not exclude the possibility altogether, but she does plan on going public with this so women know that being healthy is what matters the most.
“They fired me because they said I was overweight. They said I couldn’t fit in their clothes any more, because I was too large. I’ve been working with them since I was 15 years old, so I considered them my second family. I was very hurt about this.” Hamilton says on the show. Polo Ralph Lauren, on the other hand, claims the model’s contract was suspended because she failed to meet her obligations, but makes no mention of whether that also implied she had gained weight.
As for the photo that made the rounds just days ago and got many size-0 critics lament the state of the fashion industry and the modeling world, Hamilton says that was actually the straw that broke the camel’s back, since she had been fired before it was made public. Still, the fact that Ralph Lauren would alter her image to such an extent that it no longer looked like her is sending the wrong message to women all over the world, and for that alone the company should apologize.
“I saw my face in this extremely skinny girl – which is not me. It makes me sad. It makes me think that Ralph Lauren wants to have this kind of image – and it’s not healthy, it’s not right. And it’s not a good example. When you see this picture young women will look at this and think it’s normal, and it’s not. I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology. I’m very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy.” Hamilton explains.
Below is the entire interview with Filippa Hamilton on Today.