Canadian clothing retailer Jacob, a specialty women’s wear chain, has taken a stand to the body image debate with a “no retouch” photo policy. It has publicly committed to no longer alter the body shapes of its models. Excessive photo retouching on magazine covers and fashion ads has resulted in models being portrayed with unrealistically (and often impossibly) thin waists.
Cristelle Basmaji, Jacob’s director of communications and marketing, drew upon values centered on family, respect and altruism to explain their decision. However, the retailer said it would continue to touch up photos to even out skin tone or erase tattoos and scars.
source toronto star
PRESS RELEASE
JACOB ADOPTS A “NO RETOUCHING” POLICY FOR PHOTOS OF ITS MODELS
JACOB becomes the first women’s fashion retailer in Canada to publicly commit
to not digitally alter the body shape of its models
Montreal, September 1, 2010 – With the launch of its new fall campaign, JACOB has committed to no longer digitally alter the bodies of its models in images for both its JACOB and JACOB Lingerie brands. The Quebec-based company, which has always felt strongly about women’s issues and respecting its customers, decided it was time to take a stand on retouching.
“As a socially responsible company, JACOB has always made an effort to promote a healthy image of the female body. By adopting an official policy and broadcasting it publicly, we hope to reverse the trend in digital photo manipulation that has become excessive in our industry,” says spokesperson and Communications Director Cristelle Basmaji. “Our decision to never reshape the bodies of our models is particularly innovative for our JACOB Lingerie campaigns.”
The basis of the new “no retouching” policy is to promote an honest and realistic image of the female body. However, JACOB is not against all forms of touch-ups. Certain digital enhancements cannot be avoided in order to produce an image the size that is required for advertising. In all transparency, JACOB will continue to retouch its photos in some regards, as there will always be a need to calibrate colours for better product representation and to even out skin tone or erase tattoos and scars.
Images from the first campaign under the new “no retouching” policy now grace the windows of all JACOB and JACOB Lingerie stores across Canada. You will find attached three different versions of one of our campaign photos: the raw image, the photo as seen in our advertising campaign and one that has been retouched as we would have in the past. Can you see the difference?
JACOB: a lifestyle
Recognised as a leader on the Canadian women’s apparel market for the past 30 years, JACOB is committed to creating smart fashion that highlights the individual beauty of every woman. JACOB offers quality clothing, lingerie, accessories and beauty products at affordable prices under the JACOB, JACOB Lingerie, JOSEF and DANZ banners. By pairing trendier pieces with reinvented classics, JACOB enables the professional woman to put together a wardrobe tailored to her multi-faceted lifestyle. Based in Montreal, this family-run company has over 150 stores and 2,000 employees across Canada.