BY Carrie Melago
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, October 14th 2009, 8:48 AM
Filippa Hamilton says she was fired for being 'overweight.'
In this Ralph Lauren ad, which features Hamilton, her appearance was altered to make her look very thin.
Ralph Lauren's clothing company fired the model whose body looked emaciated in a touched-up ad because she weighed too much, the woman told the Daily News Tuesday.
Filippa Hamilton - whose hips appeared slimmer than her head in the recent altered ad - said her contract was terminated in April because she was too heavy.
"They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she said.
The 5-foot-10, 120-pound stunner was amazed to see her body digitally distorted for Ralph Lauren Blue Label.
"I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face," she told the Daily News. "It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that."
Hamilton, 23, worked for Ralph Lauren since about 2002 and considered the company like a second family - until she was bounced.
Then out of nowhere last week, the altered ad - which appeared only in Japan - caused a sensation and drew the ire of critics who thought it appeared sickly and unrealistic.
Polo Ralph Lauren said in a statement Tuesday night that Filippa is a "beautiful and healthy" woman but their relationship ended "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."
"The image in question was mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the U.S. We take full responsibility," the statement said. "This error has absolutely no connection to our relationship with Filippa Hamilton."
Hamilton's lawyer, Geoffrey Menin, said the image is "gross distortion of how she really looks and which we fear will be extremely damaging to her."
Hamilton is concerned about its impact on the public.
"I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology," she said. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy."
cmelago@nydailynews.com
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, October 14th 2009, 8:48 AM
Ralph Lauren's clothing company fired the model whose body looked emaciated in a touched-up ad because she weighed too much, the woman told the Daily News Tuesday.
Filippa Hamilton - whose hips appeared slimmer than her head in the recent altered ad - said her contract was terminated in April because she was too heavy.
"They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she said.
The 5-foot-10, 120-pound stunner was amazed to see her body digitally distorted for Ralph Lauren Blue Label.
"I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face," she told the Daily News. "It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that."
Hamilton, 23, worked for Ralph Lauren since about 2002 and considered the company like a second family - until she was bounced.
Then out of nowhere last week, the altered ad - which appeared only in Japan - caused a sensation and drew the ire of critics who thought it appeared sickly and unrealistic.
Polo Ralph Lauren said in a statement Tuesday night that Filippa is a "beautiful and healthy" woman but their relationship ended "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."
"The image in question was mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the U.S. We take full responsibility," the statement said. "This error has absolutely no connection to our relationship with Filippa Hamilton."
Hamilton's lawyer, Geoffrey Menin, said the image is "gross distortion of how she really looks and which we fear will be extremely damaging to her."
Hamilton is concerned about its impact on the public.
"I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology," she said. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy."
cmelago@nydailynews.com
