A visitor to the Soho store was shocked by the mannequin, who features protruding ribs, and snapped a photo of their find.

Michael Rudoy then posted the picture to his twitter page, writing: 'How does #LaPerla think ribs on a mannequin is ok?!'

Hours after the tweet was received, and the mannequin was removed from the window - with La Perla releasing a statement saying they will never use that model again in any of their shops.

Eating disorder charities were quick to join in the Twitter furore, with the Alliance for Eating Disorders in Florida writing 'TERRIBLE!!!"

Other stores have come under fire in the past for their use of unrealistically sized mannequins - which do not represent the majority of women.

Gap, Zara and J.C.Penny have all had to deal with backlashes over the size of their mannequins in the past, and Mango agreed in 2007 they would not display any that were smaller than a size 6 in Spain, because of the high level of eating disorders in the country.