H&M’s “completely virtual” female form is completely unattainable (because, um, it’s virtual)
In what sounds like a plot point from Total Recall, H&M press officer Håcan Andersson has confirmed that the models in a recent lingerie campaign are “completely virtual,” not unlike those on Looklet.com. What exactly does that mean? Yes, real human beings were hired and paid real money to pose for the brand, only to have their heads superimposed on humanized bodies created with photo editing software (for consistency, allegedly).
This was all uncovered by a writer at Jezebel, who translated an article from Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. In the same article, Andersson is quoted saying that this practice has nothing to do with body image, and that the goal was to show off the clothing better. Of course, we’ve seen Weird Science and know that despite any good intentions, harvesting body parts to create the most consistent, perfect woman is doomed to fail.
Hi Kevin, thanks for the info but I’m not sure why you had to tell us all…that a company displays some of it’s fashion on a ‘modelquin’.
Is it to warn women not to be fooled by such merchandising?
Surely not. Women have had to look at fantastically Photoshopped images of ‘perfect’ faces, hands, eyes etc for years in magazines and good lighting has done wonders for movie stars since Hollywood began!
However, online fashion sales are still growing whilst the high street is bearing the brunt of these dark economic times…is that why the original story was written?…hmmmm not sure.
I would like to ask you and your readers what you would prefer to see, when shopping for clothes online. It can cause heated debate between those that want to see their virtual self wearing the product and those who believe that fashion is aspirational and don’t want to see their own lumps and bulges ruining their imagined new look….until reality kicks in back at home!
Also, I have heard it said, that women will spend less when clothes are displayed on a blonde-haired model. The theory goes that women will compare themselves negatively, thinking, ‘well, she looks a whole lot better than I would look wearing the same products’. Brunette models are ‘safer’ for business.
Give Looklet some praise for being among the 1st to offer everyone such choices…come on, they have set a great standard for all the augmented-reality-believers to beat!
Looklet are doing very well over here in Europe, having just sold part of it’s photography process to a large French, flash-sales site Vente Privee (coming to your noisy neighbours down south, very soon).
Happy holidays from old, cold London town!
Hohoho!!
Hi Eamonn, great reply.
I’ve heard several times that Looklet has been acquired by Vente Privee too. They now mention on their site that the community is closing.
Do you thinkt they will focus on b2b sales entirely?
Hermione