Skin and Bones: The Fashion Industry's Choice

Within the past few years, the fashion industry has come under heavy fire for its obsession with tiny, emaciated models both on the catwalk and in advertisements.

Photo retouchers often sculpt famous faces and bodies into "real-life" Barbies, sometimes producing completely different people. Occasionally, the celebrity will come clean about the photoshopping (many times not until the real photo is released), although they usually find safety in blaming the extreme disproportions on the magazine or brand they appeared for. 

Photo courtesy of complex.com.

"So what: I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesn't!?" said Kim Kardashian, when a photo of her prior to retouching was accidently released.


I find that most celebrities, who have had a picture released prior to retouching, use the opportunity to take a stand on body issues/gain publicity. Many claim that they are happy in their own skin and that they appreciate their imperfections. But, would they have said that if people had never seen the original picture? Part of a celebrity's appeal comes from their sex appeal and beauty, whether it is real or not.


Brands, on the other hand, seem to be much more reluctant to take fault for their retouching mishaps. Magazines like Allure and Redbook have both defended the retouching used on their covers, while the clothing company Ralph Lauren continues to whittle their print ad  models into nothing.


Models Tao Okamoto, Valentina Zelyavea, and Filippa Hamilton have all been victims of extreme photoshopping when appearing in ads for Ralph Lauren. They look emaciated, fake, and reminiscent of Bratz dolls.


I find it ridiculous that Ralph Lauren continues to distort its models to such extremes. Even with backlash from nearly every corner of the planet, they blame it on a heavy-handed retoucher and brush it off. I think it is scary and problematic that a company with so much influence could be so careless in what they produce.


Ralph Lauren is a main-stream brand with a broad audience base, so these ads are likely to be seen by a range of people. It is impossible to know how many young girls have seen their retouched models and thought that was "normal".


While not as mainstream as Ralph Lauren, Chanel is one of the most recognizable brands in the high-end couture modeling world. Karl Lagerfeld, head designer of Chanel, continued to fuel the fire when he defended rail thin models in an interview with Focus magazine.


The world of fashion was all to do "with dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women," said Lagerfeld.


Runway models already suffer the most from pressure to be unrealistically thin. Their job is to act as "clothes-hangers" for the garments, ideally falling into the background so the clothes are center stage. When such a legendary designer embraces the thin trend, aspiring and working models alike are guaranteed to take notice. 


An interesting side note: Lagerfeld shot a plus size shoot for V magazine a few months after his Focus magazine interview. In my opinion, he was doing damage control from his previous comments (especially since he still has yet to embrace larger women in any of his shows).

Photo courtesy of jacob. ca.

Although hard to believe, steps are being made in the fashion industry towards embracing a more "normal" body. Jacob, a Canadian clothing retailer, has said no to retouched photos. They are still using size four models in their campaigns, but that is still two sizes larger than typically seen on the runways.


Victoria Beckham, an up and coming designer, recently banned size zero models from her latest show. She wanted "to celebrate a women's curves," said Beckham.


Even with the recent advancements, the industry is still a work in progress. Until world-wide and influential brands like Ralph Lauren and Chanel embrace that bigger is better, I think many other brands will be reluctant to as well.


For more information on up to date fashion:
- jezebel.com
- cocoperez.com