• The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, September 27, 2007 11 AM

An ad campaign from the Italian label Nolita has drawn fire for using pictures of a nude, emaciated young woman, tag line: "No. Anorexia."

Several fashion groups have wanted to improve the industry's image by pushing designers to use healthier, heavier-looking models. But the Nolita campaign has done just the opposite. It has also stirred up controversy: Is the brand raising awareness about anorexia, or profiting from it?

Mario Boselli, the president of Italy's fashion-trade group, says he is dismayed by the ads. Fabiola De Clercq, founder and president of ABA--the Italian association against anorexia, bulimia and obesity--says it "glorifies a woman who is sick." Diane von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, disagrees. She calls its a "horrible picture, but I think it may be very good in the end."

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