Sunday 19 April 2009

Just like the good ol' days...

It's not often that we see women with more than an ounce of fat on their bodies in fashion magazines, these days...Every now and then, editors will include a curvy girl to appease their politically outspoken fan base, but usually in these situations, the model will most likely be airbrushed to resemble a much smaller version of herself, a la Vogue US Shape Issue 2009...

British singer Adele (before) after her Vogue "transformation".

Sometimes, editors are less transparent. Sometimes they get it so right with their choice of model and artistic view, it makes you hopeful that the future of fashion may not be more of the same skinny minnie's that we've been seeing these past few years...

Beth Ditto graces the cover of LOVE magazine's inaugral issue.

Sometimes editors take a huge risk and dedicate a few pages to a woman whose not just skin and bones. This so rare, it's almost taboo, but most often turns out beautifully. May 1997's issue of Elle Quebec (yes, that far back) is a unique example of this.

"A bouquet of sensuality, divine like a kiss...

"...for romantic beauties. Here is spring with all of its promises...

...and the curvy girls are given the honour."

Now the Harper's Bazaar Australia camp are jumping on the bandwagon, with this spread of plus-size model Crystal Renn.

Described as "sexy bustiers, strappy dresses, and sheer lingerie ... in an 80’s-inspired shoot that felt reminiscent of Terence Donovan..."

Photographed by Luis Sanchez and styled by Wayne Gross...

...the shoot has already made fashion headlines around the world.

While this far from solves the problem, it's definitely a huge step forward. At least it displays a level of maturity over at Harper's Bazaar Australia, and their willingness to change, to be a solution instead of an enforcer of the problem.
Personally, I think the shoot is gorgeous. The lighting of the bottom right photo is a little unfortunate, but really, I hope to be opening magazines and seeing more of this kind of thing in future.
What do you all think?

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of pipeline.refinery29.com, judgmentofparis.com, blackbookmag.com and jezebel.com]

7 comments:

emsydo said...

yeah i find even when they do the whole 'shape' issue thing, they take the photo from an angle where you can't even SEE the shape.pft.
didn't beth already go naked on that NME cover? and in the same pose too i think???
Yay for HBA. glad australia is taking the first step.

Anonymous said...

I remember seeing those Elle Quebec scans at www.judgmentofparis.com which is a terrific site about plus-size models. Vogue's ''Shape'' issues are a joke, but the Aus. Harper's Bazaar pics are impressive because at least they do try to show that Crystal has some size. Not bad.

Alya said...

I don't like it when they dedicate an issue to "Shape" or "Size".. It has to come naturally. Like for example, one of the editorials could include either a normal or plus size actress/musician/etc, or an editorial with a plus size model. They shouldn't do it because they have to, but because they want to.

I'm not a skinny person, and I've had my struggles with weight. But I don't feel offended by magazines who portray skinny models. I only feel offended when they decide to dedicate an issue to "SIZE". It's just so silly and so transparent!

Megan (AusAnna) said...

I totally agree with Alya, i hate the idea of dedicating an issue of a mag to size. That spread with the plus size model is great. but they dont need beth ditto size women to make there point, they should try a flipping size 12!

tis serendipity said...

Wow I love this! I really do hope that magazines start devoting more space to 'plus sized' models. It really scares me when I see models who are excruciatingly thin and think about all the young girls who look up to that 'ideal shape'. Beauty doesn't have to be stick-thin and it'd be even more beautiful I feel, if things can be kept genuine and true.

Anonymous said...

Интересно написано....но многое остается непонятнымb

Anonymous said...

Интересно написано....но многое остается непонятнымb