Posts filed under 'models'
THIS is the model who won America’s Next Top Model last night.
Well, imagine my surprise when I tuned in to America’s Next Top Model (a Tyra Banks vehicle) to see which of the three finalists would win, only to see Whitney, a “full-figured” model, take the prize. It’s quite an accomplishment for the show, since Tyra gets all kind of flack for being size-positive on the Tyra Banks Show, her daytime talk show, but not supporting full-figured models enough on America’s Next Top Model. So finally Tyra reconciled her two TV pursuits a bit better.
We at About-Face are pretty pleased, though Whitney is not actually “plus-sized” by any stretch of the imagination. She’s pretty normal. But you know, the modeling and fashion industry needs this right now.
Watch and see more on the America’s Next Top Model web site.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, here’s a good recap of last night’s episode (the web site makes you install a Java applet, and the best bits are from 1:23 to 2:00).
Great quotes from the episode:
Tyra: “She’s not big, J. [Alexander, a judge]! This is the modeling industry — she’s considered big, but walking down the street, she’s just a hot chick.”
Paulina Porizkova [former supermodel]: “[Whitney] should not be called ‘plus-sized’ or ‘full-figured.’ [She] should just be called ‘beautiful.’ ”
Whitney: “I’m here because I do feel good about myself, and I want other women in America to feel better about themselves.”
Whitney: “[I realized] I can do that [be a model]. I don’t have to starve myself or have cosmetic surgery.”
It was all rather touching.
Is this a step in the right direction? Does it matter that there’s a larger-than-model-sized model who won? And what will it do for (or to) the fashion and modeling industries, if anything?
- J. B.
May 15th, 2008
[Update 5/9/08: An article in AdAge today reports on a statement from Dove and the retoucher mentioned in the New Yorker article discussed below. See updates throughout this item. -J.B.]
Ah, Photoshop retouching, how you pain us, how you confuse us all. Reading a very amazing (and very long) article in the New Yorker (May 12, 2008 issue) today, I learned about the techniques and life of master photo retoucher Pascal Dangin. I encourage About-Face visitors to take the time to read the entire article, either online or in the magazine itself.
[The Dove ads: Lots of retouching? Really? Did you have to break our hearts?]
[Update: Phew — turns out there may not have been much retouching after all.]
My rose-colored glasses were cracked by this statement about his work on the Dove campaigns. From the article:
I [the article’s author] mentioned the Dove ad campaign that proudly featured lumpier-than-usual “real women” in their undergarments. It turned out that it was a Dangin job. “Do you know how much retouching was on that?” he asked. “But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.”
Retouchers, subjected to endless epistemological debates—are they simple conduits for social expectations of beauty, or shapers of such?—often resort to a don’t-shoot-the-messenger defense of their craft, familiar to repo guys and bail bondsmen. When I asked Dangin if the steroidal advantage that retouching gives to celebrities was unfair to ordinary people, he admitted that he was complicit in perpetuating unrealistic images of the human body, but said, “I’m just giving the supply to the demand.” (Fashion advertisements are not public-service announcements.)
Of course they had some retouching done — but a LOT of retouching? Wait a minute. Aren’t they supposed to be “real” women?
[Update: Dangin says he did not work on the “women in their undergarments” ad, said, “In my experienced opinion, based upon what I have seen, it does not appear that the women had been retouched.”
Turns out that he did work on the Dove Pro-Age ads, which were photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Per the AdAge article mentioned above:
In her statement, provided by Unilever, Ms. Leibovitz said, “Let’s be perfectly clear — Pascal does all kinds of work … and only does retouching when asked to. The idea for Dove was very clear at the beginning. There was to be NO retouching, and there was not.”]
In the article, Dangin comes across as an artist, but he’s still manipulating the public image. Then there are tons of other photo retouchers out there who, at the urging of their advertising and magazine clients, shave off too much hip, remove too much bulge, and create a Frankenstein’s monster. Case in point:
[Some bad image manipulation.]
The resulting image can have one of two effects: Girls, boys, women, and men can see the image and 1) perceive it as real, assuming that it is the way a beautiful woman should look, or 2) see it as a grotesque, malformed person. We make the choice, and the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty makes the point well: we often can’t tell whether an image is retouched. (See the irony here?) Will we continue to believe our eyes and try to get ever more “perfect”?
I don’t believe that photographers should never use Photoshop on their photos — everyone wants a pimple removed in their family picture for posterity or their MySpace or Facebook page — but completely changing a body to within a centimeter of its former self? And selling us a literally unattainable form of beauty we are told we must fit into? That’s where I draw the line.
- J.B.
May 8th, 2008
Even the chief executive of Victoria’s Secret thinks the chain may be getting too sexy, according to an article on the Associated Press (AP) web site. This is probably a reaction to the fact that sales have been slipping. I must admit that a sly smile crept across my face as I absorbed that info. Sisters, there’s a major point about capitalism and consumer power here: If we don’t like the message a company is putting out, and we stop buying the product because of it, the company may change its message. Keep that one in mind.
On a personal note, in the last few years, walking by the super-sexed-up mannequins in the Victoria’s Secret windows make me so uncomfortable that I can’t walk in a mall with my brother, father, or hohe auszahlungstrip poker vollversion gratispoker pc game freewarepoker regeln downloadonline 7 card stud spielenwww gratis pokeronline poker macwww poker regeln deno limit texas holdem rule,no limit texas holdem,no limit texas holdem tiponline poker reviewvideo poker casinoplay omaha poker online,strip poker free play online,play poker onlineplay poker,fun game home play poker,play online pokerfree video pokervideo poker softwareplaying poker onlinetexas holdem poker,free texas holdem poker site,free texas holdem poker downloadno limit texas holdem rule7 card stud hi lowfree online poker gameonline poker gamepoker sitepoker oddsvirtual pokeronline poker downloadmerchant credit card services,credit card merchant,internet credit card merchantcard consolidation counseling credit debtbad card credit credit discover,bad credit discover cardfirst premier credit card applicationbank one credit card,bank card credit disney one,bank card chase credit oneaccept credit card merchant account0 application card credit interest,0 balance card credit interest rate transfer,0 interest credit cardamerican airline credit cardcredit card debt statistics,teen credit card debt statisticsc card consolidation credit debt program ?,credit card debt consolidation,card consolidate consolidation credit debt debt dissolveyourdebt.cominstant decision credit cardfree credit card debt management,credit card debt management,card credit debt iowa managementcredit card payment,credit card payment system,credit card minimum paymentwashington mutual credit card servicesbank card credit orchard paymentcard credit free onlinecard credit debt free livingchase credit card home pagebank card credit securedcredit card numbers,card credit discover number phone? ?,change credit card numbercard credit debt help judgmentsecured credit card applicationbest card credit studentshell gas credit cardcard comparison consolidate credit debt uncle without my face turning red. Here’s a YouTube video of what those windows look like.
The rich irony here is that Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by a man who, according to the AP article, was “embarrassed trying to buy lingerie for his wife and hoped to provide a comfortable place for men to shop.”
Heck, I was shopping there 15 years ago and loved it’s little “English boutique” feel with a sexy twist. But when Gisele and the crew came around (and the catalogs, OH the catalogs! Don’t even get me started!), I felt the need to get away from it all.
Let these guys know you support their change back to their roots. Here’s how:
1) Call them at (614) 577-7000
2) Fill out this form to e-mail your comments.
– J.B.
March 18th, 2008
Let me just tell you about this amazing lingerie catalog I just got in the mail. No it’s not Victoria’s Secret — I’d sooner toss my cookies than look at Victoria’s Secret catalog (or store) ever again. I actually found a lingerie catalog that makes me feel like I might actually look good in the lingerie! My new catalog of choice is: Julianna Rae.
Hmmm, let’s have a look… Gasp! Do I see a little bit of arm fat on that woman on page 7? Do I spy actual attempts at racial diversity? A hint of cellulite on page 15? A woman’s formerly pregnant belly on page 28? And oh my gosh! That one on page 23 might be actually a little bit older than 23! She could even be … 40!
The thing is, a little bit of arm fat or cellulite doesn’t ruin these women’s looks one bit. They all look happy. And even to my raised-to-attain-an-unattainable-ideal self, these women look truly beautiful, not to mention sexy. And shockingly, I almost feel normal when I look at the pages.
Amazing enough, the most wonderful thing about Julianna Rae’s marketing isn’t the models. It’s that you can shop by body type, either through the catalog or on the website. And none of this “wide hips” or “small bust” typing that only makes you feel “less than.” Juliana Rae wants you to feel like the beautiful flower you are:
Now, Juliana Rae is no Victoria’s Secret, and this is no low-rent catalog. The products are a lot more expensive, but they’re also incredibly high-quality. (I can vouch for this: When I got married about eight months ago, someone gave me one of the Il Cieli reversible robes, and I’ve barely taken it off since.)
The company seems to have built the idea of showing real women, and selling to them, into their founding statement. From the Julianna Rae Our Story page:
“Most of us do not look like supermodels (or regular models for that matter) but that doesn’t mean we look like a bag of potatoes (no offense to potatoes - we love them in all forms!). We are healthy, active, independent women who have a sense of style and more importantly, of ourselves. We deserve clothes that fit our lifestyles and our bodies - clothes that make us look and feel great.”
What you can do. When we dislike a certain company’s marketing or advertising, we should be speaking out and refusing to buy their products and encourage others to do the same. The reverse is also true: This is an opportunity to support kind, caring business practices. So if you’re as impressed as I am, show your support by at least writing an e-mail or letter to Julianna Rae. And if you like the products, go buy yourself something pretty! –J.B.
January 18th, 2007
You may have heard about Spain’s controversial ban on excessively skinny models. We’ve attached a few links to articles about the ban as well as reactions from the fashion industry.
ABC News: New Message to Models: Eat! A Model’s Recent Death and a Ban on Skinny Models from Madrid’s Runway Has the Fashion World Spinning
So what does About-Face think of these recent events?
“I’m thrilled that the fashion industry is thinking about the impact of using thin models, but unfortunately the conversation isn’t centering on how regular women are affected by fashion. I want the industry to have certain health standards for its workers, but that’s not all that matters. How about a little concern for the power of fashion and what it does to society?” – Jennifer
“I was so excited to hear this news I almost screamed aloud. It’s about time someone drew attention to the unhealthy standards set forth by the fashion industry, and at a governmental level! Designers claim that emaciated models are part of their artistic vision, but it seems the only statement they’re making in sending scarily thin women down the runway is that fashion can be deadly. I love the fact that there were doctors on hand turning away models who didn’t fit into a healthy BMI, highlighting that extreme thinness isn’t high fashion, but cause for medical concern. I hope this is a conversation that continues on and off the runway. All I know is that I’m totally rooting for Spain in the next world cup.” – Andi
January 3rd, 2007
