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German Magazine Takes New Direction with its Models
Added: (Thu Oct 15 2009)
Fed up with photoshopping models to make them larger, German fashion magazine, Brigitte, has decided to stop featuring traditional models on their pages. A step to prevent size zero? Or merely a cunning advertising campaign to save money and attract more readers?
Brigitte is a magazine for women that features all the usual things you’d expect including fashion, beauty, fitness and relationship advice. It is the top selling German magazine, and is directed towards young career women. Now the magazine has made a bold move, declaring that from 2010 they will stop using stereotypical thin models in favour of real women who reflect their audience.
“For years we’ve had to use Photoshop to fatten the girls up, especially their thighs and décolletage,” says editor-in-chief of the magazine, Andreas Lebert. “But this is disturbing and perverse and what has it got to do with our real reader?”
Brigitte says it will call upon readers and staff, as well as more prominent women including politicians and actresses, to model for the magazine’s articles. “We’re looking for women who have their own identity, whether it be the 18-year-old A-level student, the company chairwoman, the musician, or the footballer,” Lebert continues.
Whilst this seems like a positive direction for a magazine to be heading in, and one that should be taken on board by similar magazines across the world, Brigitte has received criticism.
Some people believe that, at a time of low magazine sales, Brigitte is using this as a publicity stunt to draw more readers in, as well as saving themselves money on model fees. However, Lebert does insist that the ‘ordinary’ women who are chosen to model for the magazine will be paid the same amount as the professional models.
Whatever the reason for doing so, surely this decision can only be a positive one for the fashion and modelling industry. There have been a number of suggested models for when these changes go ahead. Figureheads could include Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel (who has a Barbie doll modelled on her), successful tennis player Steffi Graf or politician mother of seven Ursula von der Leyen.
Director of German-based modelling agency, Louisa Models, Louisa von Minckwitz, doesn’t see how this change will increase sales, or even appeal to more women. She believes readers don’t want to look at ordinary women. “The fact is,” she says, “Women want to see clothes on beautiful, aesthetically pleasing people.” Apparently bones equal beauty!
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