After public criticism over the use of a very thin model in his runway, Australian designer Alex Perry has apologized and penned an article on the issue.

Perry blamed a “serious lapse of judgement” for his use of 21-year-old Cassi Van Der Dungen, whose thin frame caused Marie Claire magazine editor Jackie Frank to speak out publicly.

“I didn’t want the industry to be seen as condoning this kind of look and putting it up as a kind of poster for what the industry’s about,” she said.

Perry says he does not want to put forward these images and alienate his fans.

“I looked at that footage and I recoiled from it and the images,” Perry told breakfast television on Channel Nine.

“That’s not the image that I think is a good one to put forward. It’s certainly not what I’ve presented my brand about.”

In a 700 word article published in the Daily Telegraph, Perry explained his lapse of judgement as a mixture of the stress of organising the show and familiarity with the model.

He has vowed that he will never let it happen again and implored more people in the industry, managers, agents and designers to look at the issue closely.

Source: ABC, Daily Telegraph