Published: June 17th 2010 - at 8:34 pmAirbrushing campaign victory with Debenhams
Debenhams has become the biggest high-street retailer to break ranks and illustrate how far airbrushing goes within the fashion industry.
Debenhams will actively take its message to store-fronts with a sign that reads: “We’ve not messed with natural beauty; this image is unairbrushed. What do you think?”
It released pictures today of standard industry practices:
A campaign was started earlier this year by Libdem MPs Jo Swinson and Lynne Featherstone called ‘Campaign for Body Confidence‘, challenging fashion magazines and celebrities to reject air brushing.
She said today: “I am sure that what this will demonstrate is that swimwear modelled by real women who have not been retouched can sell just as well as products advertised with extensive airbrushing, which has become the norm.”
This was the model before (left) and after (right).
Debenhams released a statement saying:
Not only does it make sense from a moral point of view, it ticks the economic boxes as well. Millions of pounds a year are spent by organisations retouching perfectly good images.
As a rule we only airbrush minor things like pigmentation or stray hair and rely on the natural beauty of models to make our product look great.
Pictures via the Daily Mail
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Reader comments
See, the market works!
Pigmentation? As in skin colour?
Minor to me I guess, but then I’m white as driven snow.
Actually Nick, pressure on companies worked 
“Actually Nick, pressure on companies worked ”
The market is all about putting pressure on companies. Usually we do it by selecting lower prices, but there is nothing wrong with voicing consumer preferences as well.
This will simply make companies more picky about the models they use. They will choose ones so perfect they don’t need airbrushing. Hardly a blow for ‘body confidence’ or whatever.
Pics from the Daily Mail. Probably cause cancer.
5
I would suggest that very few models reach that level of perfection, and if market theory is an accurate predicter, companies will have to employ those models who are available. Otherwise, due to the small number of those who reach that level of perfection, their fees would become unaffordable for the smaller to medium companies.
[7] So? More young women enter modelling to put themselves through college.
The Tories introduce open primaries as a matter of course. Ex-models are never beaten (when they stand, and except for the ones who stand against each other).
In the next Labour leadership election but three, all the candidates are not only women but ex-models. Kate Belgrave leads Laurie Penny into a darkened room and gives her a nice cup of tea.
Pigmentation? As in skin colour?
Yes – also moles, spots, freckles and other things of that nature.
As usual the airbrushed model is so much less attractive. And in the case of that modified waistline, slightly ridiculous. Looks as if she’s melting.
This will simply make companies more picky about the models they use. They will choose ones so perfect they don’t need airbrushing.
There is no-one on the face of this earth who is “so perfect they don’t need airbrushing” by the current standards. The results of airbrushing are frequently anatomically impossible.
Hooray! At last, an attainable image of female perfection! After all, anyone can look like the model in the before picture, who has nothing but stupendous genes, extreme youth, several hours of depilation and spray tanning and the lengthy attentions of world class make-up artists, hairdressers, photographers and lighting experts between her and nature!
Although sarcasm aside, it’s genuinely pleasing to find that pressure on the industry works (after being told repeatedly by other Lib Dems that pressure on the industry would never work and legislation would be needed).
Debenhams is a joke and this is a cynical marketing ploy.
What happens if the model puts on a few pounds, nothing. Who cares?
What happens if the model suddenly has a breakout of spots the night before. retouching
What happens if the clothes samples don’t fit, Retouching
What happens if the make up artist and hair stylist are rushed and the hair and make up looks dodgy. REtouching.
What happens if the model has a lazy eye, or the pose is good but the expression is wrong RETouching.
What happens if the models face is great, her body is great but she has extremely hairy arms, sock marks or an inverted nipple. REtOuching.
What happens if all the above is amazing but at the last minute an art director or fashion editor or some other person decides that the image isn’t quite right. RETOUCHING.
Photoshop saves a lot of people a lot of time and money, but more than that it saves peoples jobs. Believe me when I say, that if there wasn’t retouching, companies selling stuff in an aspirational way would make a lot less money, a lot more people in the industry would have to be at the top of their game and photoshoots would take weeks rather than days. What we really need is good retouching and not the cr@p you see on the front cover of hello magazine.
rant OVER.
Lets get this right – Zakir Naik (who’s right to speak I defend on another thread) is more acceptable to Lib Con than airbrushing?
Posters are often blown up enormously. At the very least they’re static so every detail is far more noticible than they would be in person.
So to prevent anything which could be considered a distraction from the product you want the wrath and power of the State brought down on airbrushing?
New Labour’s control freakery wasn’t enough, you want the Coalition to extend their reach even further?
@13
Believe me when I say, that if there wasn’t retouching, companies selling stuff in an aspirational way would make a lot less money
Oh no! The poor vanity industry that makes money of human insecurities and created versions of unattainable “perfection” could lose money. Forgive me if rather than shed a tear I crack open a bottle of bubbly.
The rest of your post is basically saying “If you’re human then you need airbrushing”. Which doesn’t make sense to be honest. Look at the “before” picture of the model above. That’s the situation we’re talking about here.
@14
Posters are often blown up enormously.
Erm… so you’d be in favour of a ban on airbrushed models so long as the posters were below a maximum size? How consistent 
prevent anything which could be considered a distraction from the product
! Oh my word. Either you are being supremely ironic or just plain thick. Models are there to sell the product. They are, to all intents and purposes, as integral to the advert as the clothes/perfume/car/wine/etc itself. Especially with ref to the vanity industry that feeds itself from a fake version of people (the airbrushed one).
”Posters are often blown up enormously.
‘Erm… so you’d be in favour of a ban on airbrushed models so long as the posters were below a maximum size? How consistent’
What is this, the Mad Hatter’s tea party? That doesn’t even begin to resemble logic. It’s complete word salad.
”prevent anything which could be considered a distraction from the product”
‘! Oh my word. Either you are being supremely ironic or just plain thick. Models are there to sell the product. They are, to all intents and purposes, as integral to the advert as the clothes/perfume/car/wine/etc itself. Especially with ref to the vanity industry that feeds itself from a fake version of people (the airbrushed one).’
Would you outlaw soft lighting too – shoot the whole thing under harsh neon like an autopsy photo? Hell, why should a model even brush her hair? Do you want to extend this Puritanical neo-realism to all advertising or are women particularly gullible?
@16
‘Tis you whose logic is resembling the Mad Hatter’s. Your primary argument in favour of airbrushing is that posters are sometimes big. Therefore it follows that you’d be in favour of banning airbrushing on smaller posters, no?
As for the rest of your argument, it’s a complete strawman. No-one is talking about lighting or hair-brushing or whatever; just the very simple fact that human beings are – as shown by the graphic up top – cut and pasted and photoshopped into an unrealistic and unattainable idea of perfection by the advertising industry.
3/10, must try harder.
@ 17
Its not perfection for me. They look absurdly stylised. I see more beauty in normal lumpy folk.
@18
I agree, I just got bored of typing “perfection” with quote marks
‘As for the rest of your argument, it’s a complete strawman.’
This, after claiming I want photos shrunk?
And what’s the difference between lighting a model artistically and Photoshopping? They are both artificial ways of achieving a stylised effect.
This would be such a great platform for old style Northern comedians
“I wish they would air bursh my missus”
“My mother in is so ugly that even photoshop would crash”
Bit of an own goal.
The natural version is still 324% fitter than the average woman on the street.
Isn’t making a big deal about her not being airbrushed just twisting the knife?
The untouched photo is better anyway! women don’t look like the airbrushed figures that the public is putting into the industry today, it’s giving a negative and preassured image for young and older women to feel they have to look like the un attanoble when really we should be promoting healthy images not computer generated fantasies! Go Debenhams!!
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[...] Airbrushing campaign victory with Debenhams | Liberal Conspiracy [...]
- Dr Evan Harris
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Anti-airbrushing campaign gets endorsement from Debenhams who reveal techniques http://bit.ly/de9UL9
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- Pearls: The Week in Brief, 16/7/10 « The Oyster's Earrings
[...] all know it happens, but still, it’s quite an eye-opener to have it demonstrated. Have a look to see a typical air-brushed [...]
- Feminist Letters
Is Debenhams anti-airbrushing campaign good or a cynical ploy? How can we encourage others to #stopthephotoshop? http://tinyurl.com/39g8745
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