Clothing Giant H&M Defends ‘Perfect’ Virtual Models
2011 12 07
By Katie Kindelan | ABCNews.com
Visiting the H&M website is not the only virtual experience to be had by H&M customers who choose to order the company’s clothes online instead of inside one of their 2,300 global retail stores.
Also "completely virtual" are the models at the center of H&M’s swimsuit and lingerie online campaigns, the Swedish-based retailer confirmed.
 Clothing Giant H&M Defends ‘Perfect’ Virtual Models (ABC News)
"It’s not a real body; it is completely virtual and made by the computer," H&M press officer Hacan Andersson told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet in an article questioning the company’s picture-perfect online models.
In the Dec. 4 article, translated into English by U.S. celebrity website Jezebel, Andersson explained the company’s approach.
"We take pictures of the clothes on a doll that stands in the shop, and then create the human appearance with a program on [a] computer," he said.
Images from the company’s website show models wearing the latest swimsuit and lingerie looks appear in generic, stock-form with their left hand resting slightly below their waist, right arm straight and face looking directly ahead.
Advertising watchdogs in the company’s native Scandanavia elevated the controversy by criticizing the chain of lower-cost clothing stores for their generic approach to models.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, one of the most outspoken groups to criticize H&M, accused the chain of "creating unrealistic physical ideals."
"This illustrates very well the sky-high aesthetic demands placed on the female body," spokesman Helle Vaagland said. "The demands are so great that H&M, among the poor photo models, cannot find someone with both body and face that can sell their bikinis."
Andersonn defended the company’s decision to rely on virtual instead of real models by explaining that computer-generated bodies would ensure that the garments remain the focus of online shoppers’ attention, not the model’s bodies.
[...]
Read the full article at: abcnews.go.com
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