In October, German fashion magazine Brigitte announced it would ban super-skinny models from its pages, citing widespread reader outcry over images of “protruding bones.” Editor Andreas Lebert said it just felt wrong to keep Photoshopping flesh onto these girls, and so the magazine pledged to use real people in its fashion spreads going forward. “It is not a question of them suddenly becoming models,” editor Andreas Lebert told the Independent. “They simply step out of their normal lives for a moment and present fashion for us as personalities.” The first issue featuring real people is out, and the cast includes a 21-year-old hotel receptionist from Capri, a 28-year-old restaurant owner from Hamburg, a 45-year-old Icelandic artist, a 21-year-old economics student, and a 29-year-old teacher.
Each has clearly received the full attention of professional make-up artists and fashion photographers, yet there is the odd detail that reveals the models are amateur, not professional: the Capri receptionist has a slight paunch and the 45-year-old Icelandic artist has a face well-endowed with wrinkles. But many of the others might be mistaken for professionals at first glance.
Well, we didn’t expect them to pick ugly real people, did we? See some images of the real models from the January issue in the slideshow. You can look for more on Brigitte’s site, which is in German and still not especially easy to navigate even with Google’s translation.
Professional models barred from German magazine [Independent UK]
The new nude look [Brigitte.de]
