The Fashion Stunt

Steven Klein’s spread for Love magazine has caused quite a bit of stir since its release. The media and the masses have been speculating, rightfully so, about the use of Photoshop. After all, Kendall Jenner’s breasts did grow a few sizes, which we would unfortunately notice. But before we jump the gun and call bluff on Photoshop, Klein politely addressed the question on everyone’s mind. To our surprise, Klein used silicone, a lot of it, courtesy of the prosthetic masters at Tinsley Studios. He states “I did a shoot in the past with fat suits, and it led me to this, especially lately with this obsession with a new body shape. I kind of wanted to question how valid that is for designers, whether it’s just a stunt or if it’s a true shift.” The standard runway model for the past 20 years seems to be going through a transition into a more curvaceous figure. However, Klein’s questions the intention of this. “It seems like a publicity stunt, so I wanted to overdo it.” Klein also mentions Kim Kardashian, and her increasing presence in the fashion world. “A lot of designers seem to be courting people like Kim, but at the same time the clothes that they make still don’t really fit that body, unless they’re custom-made. There’s a slight insincerity to that.”

Manipulating the body to draw attention to this “new body shape” makes me wonder if this is a transition into a new ideal body in fashion, or simply a phase. With the influx of celebrity figures into fashion editorials, we seem to be more concerned with the person behind the lens, whether they fit the mold of the standard model or not. As Jenn Dickman mentioned in her blog post last week, celebrities are heavily incorporated into high fashion editorials now more than ever. Designers are capitalizing on our fascination with celebrities. By casting these high-profile individuals for campaigns and on the runway, designers are able to gain significant media attention, as well as appeal to our celebrity-obsessed generation. I can’t exactly blame these designers for doing this, because it is a great way to increase publicity. But in my opinion, this approach is placing more emphasis and attention on the “models” rather than the editorial concept and clothes.

So as our generation continues to be obsessed with Kim’s new haircut and Kendall’s prosthetic breasts for a fashion editorial, I’m going to agree with Klein that this is merely a publicity stunt, and not a shift towards a new body shape.

Image and interview via Style.com.