Makeover Madness by Steven Meisel

Even though this fantastic magazine shoot from photographer Steven Meisel for the Vogue Italia July 2005 issue was done years ago, i've only come across with it now, so i absolutely had to post it.

This new to me iconic photoshoot features a series of models, on which Linda Evangelista stands out, that glamorizes the struggle that many models go through when they have surgery to convey the idea of beauty that the fashion world demands, and therefore being a part of that world. It's a criticism  to the extent of what models (and actresses for that matter) will do to make a name for themselves in that complicated world, and the shoot sort of normalises it. I'm not against surgery, in fact you can see some before and after photos of the models and how good they look afterwards at the source, but they also looked good before even though not for the fashion industry.

Nowadays plastic surgery is something that not only almost every person on show business has done (from botox, lip injections to breast or butt implants), but also more present in our everyday life, where anyone can modify their looks in order to feel better. I personally think that one has to accept and love oneself the way they look but if a little intervention makes you feel better then go for it, but never to fill out some crazy standards.

Anyway, the photoshoot is fantastic and Meisel's satire of the modelling world is great, you can see the rest of shoot after the cut but some of the photos might be NSFW so have that in mind.

sources: vogueit & bewitch