Department store chain Debenhams claims to have abandoned airbrushing in its latest lingerie campaign.

The retailer said its designers will no longer use digital techniques such as arm slimming, thinning legs, whitening eyes and teeth and enhancing the cleavage.

Debenhams said the move comes in reaction to the amount of research that claims the self-esteem of young girls is being affected by enhanced shots of supermodels and celebrities.

Sharon Webb, Debenhams head of lingerie buying and design, told The Telegraph: “We want to help customers feel confident about their figures without bombarding them with unattainable body images.”

She added that as well being a “positive” step from a moral point of view, it would also save the retailer cash by not retouching “perfectly good” pictures.

It is understood that Debenhams had already banned airbrushing its swimwear ads, but this latest policy will be implemented across the board. It was also among the first to introduce real life, curvier mannequins in its stores.

The move follows the recent spat between Beyonce and high street retailer H&M, which claims that the singer was furious after H&M retouched images of her for a swimwear campaign.

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