Keeping It Real

I guess it was just a matter of time before this idea got tried again. The April 2009 issue of French ELLE magazine features 3 different women on the cover – all without retouching. The shots were taken by uber-lensman Peter Lindbergh, whose photographs typically have a high-fashion sensibility. Save money on retouching and make a statement at the same time. Win-Win!

Is this a continuation of a trend in editorial photography started by celebrities speaking out against excessive retouching (one of the first recent examples being Jamie Lee Curtis’s More Magazine Shoot in 2002)? Or is it becoming a staple of marketing towards women in advertising á la Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign?