in spite of what some here may think of him


Click the link folks, you may actually learn something instead of shooting your keyboards off.


http://www.ralphlaurencenter.org/services_education.asp?langid=1


The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention

I have no doubt the man does many perfectly laudable things, and that he himself is no monster, but firing a woman for being 120 pounds when she is 5'10" and then allowing that travesty of a photoshop to be published under his name are mistakes that he will have to deal with.

It's nothing personal, but knowing and having loved several women with body issues, I do not see this as a non-issue, but a symptom of a disease that destroys countless women each year and leaves countless more in a state of misery.

Of course this accusation (which is is) trumps everything else the man does. Why would I question the judgement of the DU community at large?

:eyes:

"They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore,"

their relationship ended "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2009/10/14/2009-10-14_model_fired_for_being_too_fat.html#ixzz0TyTGu5Uo


DU where guilty till proven innocent is the norm..........

And of course you'll have no response, only laugable 'evidence' from a newspaper clipping.

As I said before, my animus toward Mr. Lauren is not personal, from what you've posted here and in the other thread, it is clear that he contributes considerably to excellent and praise-worthy causes. My beef (such as it exists, and it is not very strong) is against the Fashion industry in general, which contributes shamelessly to unrealistic portrayals of the female form, creating unrealistic standards of beauty for women, and thus adding fuel to the problems of Obesity, depression, anorexia and bulimia. That badly photoshopped ad was just another example of a widespread callousness toward the natural state of the female form (which I will freely admit is not solely a problem for Mr. Lauren, who is likely not even the most egregious offender) evident throughout the fashion industry.

I go so far as to salute you in taking an unpopular position on this board on this subject, the best you can hope for is that this thread sinks, otherwise you are in for a heap of abuse. We do not take kindly to having our pinata du jour humanized.

we've become a very jaded and narrow-minded 'progressive' community over the years.

Because regardless of whatever good he may be doing, and regardless of whether we believe the model's story of why she was fired, that magazine cover is sick and distorted, and Mr. Lauren is in complete control of how his company's image is put out there. Why defend that?

before condemning a man who does more to help those in need than any of you here ever will. And when and IF the other shoe drops, DU will abandon the thread like a maggot-laced carcass.

...by assuming the model is probably lying about what happened, or at least is not to be trusted, at the same time assuming that RL *is* to be trusted, and ignoring the distasteful (to say the least) magazine cover. Furthermore, you are hurling angry rhetoric to go along with it: "...who does more to help those in need than any of you here ever will." Why do you feel the need to say that? "any of you here" ... seems to me that, as a fellow DUer, you might have used the phrase "any of us here". But instead you choose to take a divisive, accusatory tone. I mean, is this guy a personal friend or something? If so, I can understand your reaction. Otherwise, not so much.

Furthermore, to criticize is not to condemn. Sure, the model has an axe to grind, and maybe it's valid or maybe it isn't. But that cover is outrageous, and tends to make what she says more believable IMO.

I think you are one of many here who have an axe to grind, against anything and anyone who isn't 'pure' enough in the DU sense.

Meh, go piss on some other charitable organization without knowing all of the facts, you appear to enjoy it.

...http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6782005

If you're talking about the infamous photoshopped pic, that was an unauthorized shot that ended up in a Japanese mall as the result of some mix-up. Even the Ralph Lauren people could see it was a disastrous photoshop apparently.

It was as distorted as the way the story is progressing.

bur by the time the people wake up to read it, they'll have moved on to some other story requiring zealotry and venom.


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.

Today all models are innocent victims of the fashion industry, and tomorrow they'll be back to being vapid, narcissistic tools who won't get out of bed for less than $10,000.

- It was Wallis Simpson who first coined the term "you can't be too rich or too thin."
- Women have been dieting on watercress and lime jello since the beginning of time. Diet fads are not a new "epidemic." Neither are other destructive behaviors like induced vomiting or cutting.
- Playboy has been airbrushing women's bodies since 1953.
- Marilyn Monroe wore a size 4 pants. She was tiny. Much as women want to pretend she was a size 14, that's bullshit.
- There are more acceptable body types today than ever before.

could be an inability to meet the obligations of a contract.

Women who are 5'10 and 120 pounds still are not fat. In fact, that sounds pretty thin to me. I am glad he thinks cancer is bad though. That's sweet.

as well. Doesn't make him any less of an asshole!

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

But I'm sure he gets a lot off tax write-offs as well.

So is he a great humanitarian or is he following the advice of his financial advisors?

seem to hate womens bodies and love the bodies of pre-pubescent boys.

On balance he may be a good person, but that doesn't mean the damage he's contributed to shouldn't be discussed...

Then maybe he'll step in and change the direction of his company because the backlash against extraordinarily thin models is building.

& you can't tell what's going on at a foundation by the media pr.

Lauren should try paying the people who make his overpriced clothes better.


Award-winning journalist John Bowe examines how outsourcing, subcontracting, immigration fraud, and the relentless pursuit of �everyday low prices have created an opportunity for modern slavery to regain a toehold in the American economy.

Bowe uses thorough and often dangerous research, exclusive interviews, eyewitness accounts, and rigorous economic analysis to examine three illegal workplaces where employees are literally or virtually enslaved.

From rural Florida to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the U.S. commonwealth of Saipan in the Western Pacific, he documents coercive and forced labor situations that benefit us all, as consumers and stockholders, fattening the profits of dozens of American food and clothing chains, including Wal-Mart, Kroger, McDonalds, Burger King, PepsiCo, Del Monte, Gap, Target, JCPenney, J. Crew, Polo Ralph Lauren, and others.

http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/1352


"It is true, these beautifully gowned, beautiful women prattled sweet little ideals and dear little moralities; but in spite of their prattle the dominant key of the life they lived was materialistic. And they were so sentimentally selfish!

They assisted in all kinds of sweet little charities, and informed one of the fact, while all the time the food they ate and the beautiful clothes they wore were bought out of dividends stained with the blood of child labor, and sweated labor, and of prostitution itself.

When I mentioned such facts, expecting in my innocence that these sisters of Judy O'Grady would at once strip off their blood-dyed silks and jewels, they became excited and angry, and read me preachments about the lack of thrift, the drink, and the innate depravity that caused all the misery in society's cellar.

When I mentioned that I couldn't quite see that it was the lack of thrift, the intemperance, and the depravity of a half-starved child of six that made it work twelve hours every night in a Southern cotton mill, these sisters of Judy O'Grady attacked my private life and called me an 'agitator' — as though that, forsooth, settled the argument."

It amazes me how vile and bitter DU has become. No matter what anyone does to help in this world, and unless they meet the DU purity test, they are shit. The Trumpeting of this story by a DU member who gives voice to the old saying 'tar and feather' (Ralph Lauren is a World Class Jackass) without examining both sides of the controversy brought out some of the most vile people I've ever met here on DU. And bandwagon jumping is becoming the norm here not the exception.


Just because you pulled a book review from Buzz Flash doesn't mean treating people in need isn't worthy, and sometimes I wonder why I bother with this insanity. Please continue to consider his good work shit. I'm sure the people he's helped in NYC would disagree.


Ralph Lauren subsequently apologized for the image, saying "We have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body,".

For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality, integrity and a wholesome American lifestyle. Filippa Hamilton is a beautiful and healthy woman that we have worked closely with for over 6 years and we consider her an important part of our imaging and branding. We regret that our relationship has 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 for allowing this image to run as this is completely inconsistent with our creative standards and brand values. This error has absolutely no connection to our relationship with Filippa Hamilton.

Polo Ralph Lauren

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33306914/ns/today/

Maybe some of you should LOOK for the other side of the story before ASSUMING your version. And if you are so concerned with HER image, why not demand to see her contract? maybe that would clear everything up. Oh wait, not to the satisfaction of the people who carry pitchforks and torches here. :eyes:

not, they mostly help themselves.

Ralph Lauren = sweatshops.

and you couldn't be further from the truth...............

why do you think there are *so* many foundations?

because the rich, in general, are burning with desire to help the unfortunate?

lol.

ralph lauren should quit using slave labor.

but then, of course, he wouldn't be rich.

"As of 2009, Forbes Magazine estimates his wealth at $2.8 billion, which would make Lauren the 224th richest person in the world."

Anytime someone disagrees with you, you spout more bile than anyone here.