Brigitte, Germany’s most popular woman’s magazine, has announced that it will stop using photographs of professional models and will instead use only photographs of “real” women.
According to Andreas Lebert, Brigitte’s editor in chief, the move was made in response to complaints from readers who said that they no longer feel a connection with women depicted in the magazine’s fashion feature. Lebert told the Guardian UK that “for years we’ve had to use Photoshop to fatten the girls up…Especially their thighs, and decolletage. But this is disturbing and perverse and what has it got to do with our real reader?”
Brigitte’s choice has been met with mixed responses. Some herald the decision as a positive step within the fashion world and others decry the move as unrealistic and profit driven. There is also concern that the “real” women will mirror the professional models previously featured in the magazine.
The magazine will only feature photographs of staff and readers starting in January 2010, according to the Brisbane Times.
