Airbrushed Abs Just Got A Little More Intense.

This past week a surge of activity heat the press as H&M unveiled its new ads for their lingerie collection; but it was not the underwear that got people in an uproar, rather it was the models in each photo.  It's no mystery that majority of main stream retail companies and advertising agencies rely heavily on computer touch ups and re-constructing before printing a major add but after closer examination of the photos it was clear there was something a little too digital about the photos.

New Yorker's CutBlog reports, "Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet in which H&M press officer Håcan Andersson confirms that their new lingerie-clad bodies are "completely virtual." For H&M's website or catalogues, much of the store's clothing is now shot on mannequins, which are then humanized via photo-editing software." (TheCutBlog)

Interesting enough the heads of the models were superimposed onto the "created" bodies which adds more fuel to the already heavily debated discussion that companies go too far with re-touching bodies in order to promote a better ad or image.  H&M stresses that in no way was this disrespectful to the models or the human body in general, rather they wanted to focus more on the garments itself, not the human modeling it: "It's not about ideals or to show off a perfect body... we are doing this to show off the garments" (TheCutBlog).  
You have to wonder with H&M taking such drastic measures in order to promote a seemingly simple collection, why resort to such extreme measures?  Why isn't the body of a model good enough to promote their line and what are they are truly trying to capture by superimposing artificial bodies in their ads? Perhaps a new wave of fashion art is ushering in and more retailers will jump on board in this strangely bizarre new twist on fashion.
But for this moment, H&M's decision and completed ad seems a bit too uncomfortable for the public to take in just yet; what doors will this ad open next?