Airbrushing models to look curvier: good or bad?

Kate Upton Vogue Cover, January 2013

From breakout actress Jennifer Lawrence to supermodel Kate Upton (pictured above), 2012 was the year of celebrities with real numbers on their jean tags. Although the movement away from super-slim models of the 1990s and 2000s has been welcomed by most, a few are crying foul.

“I’ve been airbrushed to look bigger a couple of times actually,” fashion model Nicalina told FOX411 during a recent interview. “I think it’s not necessarily the best thing for your career, because it’s not a great representation of what you look like towards other clients.”

This action, called “reverse photoshopping,” involves digitally manipulating pictures to make models look fuller, curvier or more muscular — and magazine editors aren’t denying it.

Karlie Kloss Reverse Photoshop

^ Supermodel Karlie Kloss’ ribs were smoothed out in the altered version (on left) of this picture that appeared in Numéro.

“There have been cases where models are booked way ahead of a shoot and then they turn up two months later looking less healthy and perhaps a bit underweight,” said Nicky Eaton, international director of communications at Condé Nast, in a recent article. “We wouldn’t be happy showing them that way, so it is then that we would need that person to look a little bit fuller.”

Personally, I think the representation of more body shapes is an awesome thing — it’s just a little unexpected after years of dominance by size-0 models. Even magazine insiders agree…

“I spent the first 10 years of my career making girls look thinner — and the last 10 making them look larger,” said Robin Derrick, creative director of British Vogue.

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