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.