H&M has attracted plenty of critique after publishing a photo of Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana with extremely Photoshopped skin -- these two photos are the same woman.
H&M Gives Model Different Skin Color
Model's skin airbrushed to extreme tan-ness, company draws criticism.
Web2Carz Contributing Writer
Published: May 12th, 2012
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hotoshopping is an all-too-common practice among major publications, but when it comes to airbrushing a model with relatively light skin to the point that she looks like she is of an entirely different ethnicity, we think that's taking it too far. H&M is drawing critique after publishing a photo of Isabeli Fontana, a Brazilian model, advertising a bikini while tanned almost beyond recognition.
If H&M liked her skin color, why did they feel the need to change it so drastically?
The Photoshopping is awful even besides the skin-color-change, with awkward "light reflection" spots on Fontana's body, and all H&M has said about the snafu is that, in short, we don't understand their intentions—which are to make the color of the swimsuit pop. The Swedish Cancer Society has also accused the company of promoting a "deadly beauty ideal" and contributing to "more people dying from skin cancer."
In a statement, the retailer wrote, "We are sorry if we have upset anyone with our latest swimwear campaign. It was not our intention to show off a specific ideal or to encourage dangerous behavior, but was instead to show off our latest summer collection."
H&M has no intentions of pulling the ads, and a spokeswoman for the brand has defended the photos, saying that Fontana was chosen for the campaign because, as a Brazilian, her naturally darker skin would showcase the bright colors and strong patterns of the collection—to which we ask: why, if H&M liked her skin color, did they feel the need to change it so drastically?
