The retouching debate is in no way revolutionary. We’ve been appalled and (although not everyone would care to admit it) inspired, in equal measure for quite some time now as images across the fashion, beauty and lifestyle are heavily photoshopped and digitally altered.
And this week, two of the world’s most prominent models, Gisele Bundchen and Lily Aldridge have spoken out against the use of airbrushing. First up was Brazilian beauty Gisele, who, having starred in the recent BLK DNM campaign, shot by the brand’s creative director Johan Lindeberg, told Fashionista “I loved his approach because I feel like women should be really real and raw and it doesn’t really happen anymore [in fashion photographs]. I love that feeling of, you know, we are women – we are so different. Our imperfections are what makes us unique and beautiful. He gets that. He’s not trying to retouch you or put a pretty light on you. He’s not like, “You’ve got to look a certain way.” He’s like “You are you.”‘
Swiftly followed by Victoria’s Secret angel Lily Aldridge, who condemned the industry’s inclination to “go crazy” with over-retouching. Lily told the Huffington Post, “I honestly don’t like Photoshop. I think when people Photoshop things, all of a sudden you’re like, ‘That’s not even me anymore.’ It takes away the natural beauty of a person.”
“I think Gisele had just said something like, there’s no more rawness, like the little quirks. You know, I have a gap in my teeth and sometimes people take it away. But I’m like, ‘I love my teeth.’ You know, that’s me. A little is fine, but don’t go crazy.”
So is it about time we returned to the raw, barely-airbrushed images of days gone by? Or do we secretly adore these ‘aspirational’ images?