Fab Flash: British Fashion Council Takes Closer Look at Airbrushing

April 2, 2008

In the wake of the British Fashion Council's Model Health Inquiry, which resulted in models under 16 being banned from the London catwalks, the airbrushed pages of magazines are now coming into question.

The British Fashion Council (BFC) wrote to the UK's Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) in December to suggest "a voluntary code covering the use of digital manipulation [in photography]." A BFC spokeswoman said that rather than limiting magazine's use of airbrushing, they would like to see a warning that the image had been altered instead. The PPA yesterday agreed to discuss the matter with British magazine editors.

Do you think it would be productive to have a surgeon general-type warning on airbrushed images? I'd be interested to see what unairbrushed images actually look like. Would you?

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51 Comments

gaelgirl 5 years 5 weeks

i'd really like it if they just stopped "improving" people. airbrushing out nipples & acne is fine, but i think they should stop removing normal stomachs, making boobs insane, making legs and necks longer, & anything else that makes even the model not pretty enough.-ps coming from the keyboard of someone who has modeled. it's not fun hearing you aren't something enough to be pretty.

gaelgirl 5 years 5 weeks

i'd really like it if they just stopped "improving" people. airbrushing out nipples & acne is fine, but i think they should stop removing normal stomachs, making boobs insane, making legs and necks longer, & anything else that makes even the model not pretty enough. -ps coming from the keyboard of someone who has modeled. it's not fun hearing you aren't something enough to be pretty.

Kaciegrrl 5 years 7 weeks

Here's my only beef with this just as a graphic designer & photographer. I spent a lot of time learning Photoshop and other design/image editing software in order to enhance pictures. It actually takes a fair amount of skill to retouch a photo and keep it from looking retouched. So it is frustrating to me in that respect; mastering those skills takes a lot of time and they do help produce beautiful ads and imagery.On the other side, I don't have an issue with it because I do think it would help people to see a disclaimer about retouched photos. Impressionable young girls need to be made aware that what they are seeing in a magazine is in fact not reality, but the result of having a skilled photo editor. This might help them from trying to attain impossible ideals regarding weight and beauty. But if it's voluntary, I doubt you will see much compliance - what magazine is going to piss off a celeb by saying they had to be digitally enhanced?

Kaciegrrl 5 years 7 weeks

Here's my only beef with this just as a graphic designer & photographer. I spent a lot of time learning Photoshop and other design/image editing software in order to enhance pictures. It actually takes a fair amount of skill to retouch a photo and keep it from looking retouched. So it is frustrating to me in that respect; mastering those skills takes a lot of time and they do help produce beautiful ads and imagery. On the other side, I don't have an issue with it because I do think it would help people to see a disclaimer about retouched photos. Impressionable young girls need to be made aware that what they are seeing in a magazine is in fact not reality, but the result of having a skilled photo editor. This might help them from trying to attain impossible ideals regarding weight and beauty. But if it's voluntary, I doubt you will see much compliance - what magazine is going to piss off a celeb by saying they had to be digitally enhanced?

maple 5 years 7 weeks

while i think this has good intentions, it's ultimately just not practical. i've done work as a professional image editor for years, and i can tell you that EVERY PHOTOGRAPH that you see in any professional magazine, brochure, catalog, etc etc, is edited in some way or another. this means photos of landscapes, cars, beer bottles, nail polish, interior design shots, hamburgers... all of it. in most cases, the images are merely edited to make them look more true-to-life, or to present them as beautiful images, and i truly believe there is little wrong with that.HOWEVER, there are absolutely certain parameters that could be set up which would make necessary such a label if you alter CERTAIN THINGS in a photograph... such as the shape of a person's body. i think something along those lines would work and would be justified. i don't agree with much of what is done within this industry in regards to things dealing with how "beauty" is defined, but practicality is always an issue.

maple 5 years 7 weeks

while i think this has good intentions, it's ultimately just not practical. i've done work as a professional image editor for years, and i can tell you that EVERY PHOTOGRAPH that you see in any professional magazine, brochure, catalog, etc etc, is edited in some way or another. this means photos of landscapes, cars, beer bottles, nail polish, interior design shots, hamburgers... all of it. in most cases, the images are merely edited to make them look more true-to-life, or to present them as beautiful images, and i truly believe there is little wrong with that. HOWEVER, there are absolutely certain parameters that could be set up which would make necessary such a label if you alter CERTAIN THINGS in a photograph... such as the shape of a person's body. i think something along those lines would work and would be justified. i don't agree with much of what is done within this industry in regards to things dealing with how "beauty" is defined, but practicality is always an issue.

berrymix 5 years 7 weeks

wow this is good.

berrymix 5 years 7 weeks

wow this is good.

smoochiez 5 years 7 weeks

great idea! i love it!!!!!

smoochiez 5 years 7 weeks

great idea! i love it!!!!!

Talldiva45 5 years 7 weeks

I have an even better answer - Instead of adding a warning how about not airbrushing pictures at all!!! I mean let's face it we are all human with imperfections - we should embrace them!

sophiebella 5 years 7 weeks

A CAPTION WOULD BE GOOD FOR TEENS AND ADULTS WHO FEEL DOWN ABOUT THESE PERFECT PEOPLE IMAGES, BUT DON'T CUT OUT THE AIRBRUSHING! THAT'S WHAT BEAUTY AND FASHION ARE ALL ABOUT, PERFECT BEAUTY, AND IT GIVES YOU MOTIVATION TO ALSO LOOK YOUR BEST.

ranksubjugation 5 years 7 weeks

Yeah, little girls should all learn to use a little photoshop, too, so they know HOW MUCH it actually changes the look of a model. Also, like another commenter said, girls might decide against plastic surgery and lipo if they realize that they can get similar results with the computer.

Rouge14 5 years 7 weeks

Studying Graphic Design, I got to learn a lot about photoshop and retouching photographs, and I must say, since I realised how much everything is retouched in magazines, I can actually spot what details have been retouched or not when I'm reading one now, and it really has changed the way I think about the pictures we see in them. I can totally understand where they're going with this idea and I think it would be a great step forward to get girls to have a more realistic vision of beauty. Maybe they'll think twice before thinking I want surgery on my nose, I want to change this and that, when they'll actually see on the page that it's been retouched, now they might think "oh in the end I look alright".

Rouge14 5 years 7 weeks

Zari 5 years 7 weeks

this is just amazing!Do it then pleasee

Martini Rossi 5 years 7 weeks

Great fricken Idea, every magazine should do this. I would love to see how models and celebs really look! This is great.

redhed1156 5 years 7 weeks

They just shouldn't airbrush images at all. Even if you know they are airbrushed it still alters your perception of how you feel you should look.

j2e1n9 5 years 7 weeks

Wow! That would be awesome! The whole banning too thin models and air brushing it such a good step towards combating all of these unrealistic aesthetic expectations. If someone doesnt start it, then it could just get worse.

kiwitwist 5 years 7 weeks

I think this is great though I would prefer for it to not be done period. Fine if they need to fix up something that looks odd, but don't change the way the person looks completely, goodness!

Sophie827 5 years 7 weeks

I think it's a really good idea. Most people know most pictues have already been airbrushed but it's still depressing seeing those flawless photos and that little quick reminder it's not real would be helpful

plasticapple 5 years 7 weeks

I LOVE seeing celebs looking average! It helps me remember that they are regular people. It's easy to forget that sometimes.

idawson 5 years 7 weeks

cant do too much harm; minor airbrushing is no biggie - our HS pics were slightly airbrushed to remove minor discolorations/blemishes. but the death by photoshop is a little too much.

idawson 5 years 7 weeks

cant do too much harm; minor airbrushing is no biggie - our HS pics were slightly airbrushed to remove discolorations/blemishes. but the death by photoshop is a little too much.

CK621 5 years 7 weeks

everyone should be required to do this!

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