Chanel Iman| VS Angels Golden Girl

Victoria’s Secret has a group of new Angels, most notably Chanel Iman. Ms. Chanel just showed up in a fashion editorial for Deutsch magazine.

Having raked Ralph Lauren over the coals over Photoshop abuse, we can’t ignore other equally distorted representations of women. I don’t get the point of why women must become cartoons of themselves, and I do understand the influence of anime and digital art on fashion. 

Chanel Iman in Deutsch by David Romer

Gorgeous Chanel Iman is Photoshopped to look like New York’s, plastic surgery queen Jocelyn Wildenstein. Somebody just tell me why her own beauty and body aren’t enough for the art department? What is the urge to make women chariacatures of themselves, doll babies of real women? 

Perhaps I’m over-reacting in the midst of the Ralph Lauren Photoshop debate. Goodness knows I support artistic expression. But it seems that the actual woman is never beautiful enough or thin enough for the Photoshop folks. They must remake her in their vision of what she should be.

When women become as thin as Chanel Iman is Photoshopped to be in these photos — or shot at this angle as the beauty idea — she stops menstruating and loses her fertility. Her hair falls out and her bones become brittle.

Do I think this is some unconscious sinister patriarchal plot against women. Subconsciously, yes I do. Call me crazy. Rest of fashion editorial photos at Fashionising.com. 

New York socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein

More Reading: 

Ralph Lauren Celebrates the End of American Women’s Sexuality

and Body & Beauty Politics Blog

Comments

[the younger generation.]

you know what? chanel has to be THE most beautiful person i have ever seen in my life, and i've seen a hell of a lot of beautiful people. you don't see why women have to become cartoons? who said she was a freakin' cartoon? maybe she's born that way? there is such a thing as being NATURALLY skinny, you know. just in case you haven't heard. /:

i don't see why you can't accept that some people are just SKINNY. chanel is drop dead gorgeous, sheesh. leave her the hell alone and complain about the lack of beauty in your life to something more along the lines of a diary.

the bottom line is that chanel iman is b e a u t i f u l. for you to think anything other than that is just absurd. she deserves mountains of praise and admiration for taking good care of herself and being as successful as she is.

[Anne]

OMG! the younger generation really misunderstood my point. I certainly meant to convey that Chanel Iman is naturally gorgeous. I wrote that actually.

If you look at the imbalance in her body in the Deutsch editorial, her naturally thin, beautiful body is manipulated further and weirdly. Like the Ralph Lauren ads, her head is bigger than her waist. The point of the dialogue -- coming in the middle of the Ralph Lauren photoshop debate -- is why must digital artists work to "enhance" or distort Iman's natural beauty into what I do argue is a cartoonish version of herself. Pardon me, Jezebel would agree,' the younger generation'.

We're on a slippery slope here. Genes are next, which is my greater concern. Especially appearing in Germany, which was taking a firm stand against this kind of image manipulation at the time, this editorial was ripe for discussion. My point had NOTHING to do with Chanel Iman being naturally thin.

I think you read too quickly, my young friend. Anne

[Nonesense]

I definitley agree with Anne here!

There are many women who are naturally skinny but then there are women who are naturally big boned. The fashion industry forced models to be thin and for the few lucky girls that are naturally skinny they can eat whatever they want and have not a care in the world, where as the other models who are skinny but not skinny enough according to malicious standards need to force themselves to be small. Chanel Iman may be one of those luck girls that can eat mcdonalds all day and not gain an inch, but for her image to be photoshopped to be SMALLER than she already is, well thats nonsense.