Fattening the models

Swedish magazine Veckorevyn has begun manipulating photos of skinny models, making them appear a bit chubbier.  

  • Swedish magazine Veckorevyn is using Photoshop to “fatten up” models who are too skinny looking. Photo: hala-hi.org
  • Swedish magazine Veckorevyn has begun manipulating photos of skinny models, making them appear a bit chubbier. While many magazines use Photoshop to digitally remove weight, Vecko-Revyn is doing the opposite.

    “We will fatten up the skinniest catwalk models starting with our next issue,” says Linda Öhrn Lernström, the present editor-in-chief. There is an increasingly vocal public opinion against the anorexic ideal of beauty in the fashion industry. Yet agencies continue to deliver women who look almost like skeletons to the major fashion shows around the world. According to Öhrn Lernström it is difficult for a Swedish girl magazine to do something about that. So Vecko-Revyn is now taking matters into their own hands.

  • The campaign Size Hero's editor-in-chief Louise Bratt (editor-in-chief of the magazine itself on parental leave) comments the campaign at the veckorevyn.com (screen dump)
  • “We will begin by marking the pictures with the models we want to ‘fatten up’ with a Size Zero symbol, in order for the reader to know they have been manipulated.” Vecko-Revyn isn’t the first magazine to go take this route; Australian Vogue has also been manipulating photos to make sickly skinny models appear healthier. And last summer, British Vogue presented a health initiative, in which 19 Vogue editors-in-chief signed a six-point declaration, saying they will not work with models that look like they have an eating disorder, or who appear to be minors. They also asked fashion designers to not send clothes in small sizes, which forces the use of underweight models. Vecko-Revyn has been criticized for retouching their models, which some researchers say may influence young girls negatively. But Öhrn Lernström defends the usage of Photoshop in making the models look better. “If there was a huge pimple on the forehead of a model, it would take away from her beauty. It’s also out of respect to the model, who might want to present her best side,” she says.

  • Swedish girls making their own statements regarding looks and likes... through the Size Hero campaign Image / screen dump from Veckorevyn's campaign.
  • Hats of to Veckorevyn for doing this, read (if you read Swedish) the campaign, Size Hero's editor-in-chief Louise Bratt's comments on the subject: Nu vill VeckoRevyn förändra skönhetsidealen!