Today’s Little Photoshop of Horrors brought to you by: Madonna & Louis Vuitton
Look, if you don’t focus on the black bunny ears and the bubble skirt, Madonna looks fairly extraordinary for her age. Which is 51. Given that she is widely acknowledged to have had fairly extensive surgery and works out most of the hours in every day, that is hardly surprising.
But was that good enough for Louis Vuitton? Say it with me now: noooooooooo.
The un-retouched images from her 2009 ad campaign have just surfaced and while they’re not surprising, once again, it’s an important reminder that fashion images should have a big fat FICTION stamp on them. Or maybe just a disclaimer saying: “This is an illustration and in no way reflective of what Madonna, or indeed any other 51 year old women could ever look like in a million years. Heck, you couldn’t even look like this if you were 15.”
The un-Photoshopped picture of Madonna comes courtesy of Dashusland via Fashion Copious and Fashionising.
You might also like:
-
UPDATE: here’s how that Madonna shot looked before Photoshop
-
FROCKWATCH: Madonna
-
How calculating could Madonna be REALLY? And also? Why are men never called home-wreckers?
-
Madonna’s manager dismisses Australian tour on Twitter
-
One in five children in this little girl’s country doesn’t live past the age of five. Still opposed to Madonna adopting her?
How is how she looks haggard? She looks crazily good for a 51 yo! If you reckon that looks haggard, meet some real Mums face to face! Hell, meet ANY real woman face to face!
i think LV is just creating a fantasy style campaign and would have probably done the same with a 14yo model, i don’t think its done in a bad way @ all. don’t think the original pic is the best one of the shoot, and i work with models and in all photo shoots even 14yo have a bad photo, its more about the angle, light and so on, i’m sure there are some great pics of madonna from the LV shoot as well, but as i said i believe that the effect on the photo would’ve been there anyway.i like it!
I love Madge…I think she looks terrific in the untouched phot…and I also like the styalised ones. They almost look like an oil painting, as someone else mentioned earlier.
…and like someone else said…if she wants to workout, wear what some may think to be, age innappropriate clothing, so what.
She’s always put herself out there and good on her….it doesn’t mean I “love” everything she does, recording and video clip wise, but if I’m not keen on something, I don’t watch or listen.
Hey Guest, people are entitled to their opinions. When you introduce words like vicious sand bitchy I begin to wonder what your problem is. And what’s with the ……….. ” Why can’t she (Madonna) dress however she bloody well wants’? If you say that you take a long time to get dressed in the morning because you worry about whether you’re going to ‘cop it from other women,’ you seriously need to consider whether you have some issues and that is why you have had difficulty dealing with the comments here. The add is a fraud that is why people have commented on Madomna and her arms and other body parts. I haven’t found anyone’s comments bitchy and vicious except your’s.
*too* *write*
No, I’m the person who ‘liked’ your comment (I really need to come up with a name for myself!). The comment about her being ‘dreadfully unattractive’ bothered me, although maybe it was meant as a joke? And just the overall tone of some of the other comments, about how old she looks and how she should dress her age and how awful her arms look. I understand that the woman is a celebrity and puts herself out there and we have every right to comment on her but I really don’t understand why people feel the need to attack like that. What is it about her that annoys people so much? Is it because she tries to hard with all the exercising and plastic surgery? Surely that’s her choice? If anything I would have thought she is setting a good example by keeping fit. Much better than say, Kirstie Alley. Why don’t we do a column on her and we can all right what a giant, disgusting slob she is with no self control and how all our mothers look better than her. No? Why not? I will shut up now, I know this whole thing is meant to be about photoshopping and I’m getting a bit carried away but it does bother me alot.
and that’s why it’s so interesting (and strange, to some of us). it’s more the idea of Madonna, than the real Madonna. or you could say, the idea of a woman, as opposed to a real woman.
this is why i don’t buy into “luxury brands”. i much prefer reality over the idea of some fancy life that doesn’t exist.
I don’t know if you’re referring to mine at all (I said she looked tired, bored, and like she doesn’t belong in the clothes) but I feel I should’ve pointed this out in my comment anyway. I don’t think there’s a problem with Madonna looking tired or bored. Quite frankly, I have a lot of admiration for Madonna for the way she consistently reinvents herself and for the dedication she has to looking the way she does. I think she looks great for her age. But I can see why Louis Vuitton opted to Photoshop it.
Because it’s Madonna. Madonna is going to get Louis Vuitton far more attention than some unknown model.
Some people on here are being so viscious. In my opinion that’s more of an issue than the photoshopping. Why do women have to be so bitchy about each other? If Madonna wants to spend alot of her time exercising why is that such a terrible thing? If she looks older than your mother, so what! Why does she have to dress her age? Why can’t she dress however she bloody well wants? This is why it takes me so long to get dressed in the morning, I’m afraid if I get it wrong I’m going to cop it from other women. It’s ironic isn’t it, the whole photoshopping thing is meant to be about how wrong it is and how we should just be able to accept women as they are and then you lot come out with all your comments about how awful she looks.
so what?
why use Madonna then? why not use an ethereal, arty looking model? i don’t get it.
I think it is important to show different examples of this kind of photoshopped image. There’s plenty of people out there who are not too media savvy and DO think that these images are real, and that their own bodies are freakish and wrong. I work with teenagers and I assure you, they consume magazines and advertising images without casting a critical eye over them. If they google images or info about Brittney and come up with an example of how she really looks (which is fine and normal) versus how she is manipulated to look (totally unnatural and unrealistic), and that helps them become more comfortable in their own skin, then bring it on. It’s not just kids but adults who need this kind of reminder too. If you’re bored by it, just don’t click on the link.
she looks haggered in the top ‘blue’ shot… did they forget to retouch that one. The rest just look like an advert for barbie or some other doll
If you’re in KL, does it make any difference between having a shower and sorting your hair? LOL!!! Crazy humidity.
Hey Guest, I don’t think there’s a ‘Jealousy Syndrome’ at work here in what Mia is bringing to our attention. It’s about pointing out various business practices in an industry that is ceating myths.
Do you reckon the celebs just don’t look in the mirror anymore? I know that sometimes I’m in such a hurry to feed the baby, get the 4 year old dressed and ready for school that I’m lucky to have a shower, let alone look in the mirror. And sometimes, when I do look in the mirror, I realised I haven’t really looked at myself for a long time. Do you think that’s what celebs do too? The difference with them is that they have such a distorted view of themselves that now they don’t think the reflection is what they really look like and instead wait for the makeup artist.
I’m ok with this one. In the original, she looks tired and somewhat bored. And this might just be me, but there’s something about the unretouched one that, if I saw it in an ad campaign, would sort of sadden me. She just looks uncomfortable and like she doesn’t belong in the clothes she’s wearing. The retouched one is very obviously retouched to have the ethereal, arty look Louis Vuitton is is clearly going for.
I posted this down yonder somewhere, but I really don’t want it to get lost. I want to be Sigourney Weaver when I grow up. She is fabulous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G02JqrKQZrE
Check out Sigourney Weaver on Letterman. THAT is what a woman looks like properly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G02JqrKQZrE
I want to be like her when I grow up. She’s recently turned 60, and you can easily see no work has been done – she has nice starting to get soft skin like my (60 this year) Mum.
She looks like a porcelain doll in the fixed ones! Like, seriously, a porcelain doll of madonna.
i am 100% with you on this mia. i like to be reminded how false these images are, in fact i need to be.
the other thing i can’t help thinking is, poor old madonna. people must recoil in horror every time they see her in real life. she must look so different to every image people see of her in the media it must come as a shock to see what she really looks like. same goes for just about every celebrity who is equally overexposed.
I acknowledge that it is important for women to be aware of the misrepresentation of celebrities in the media, especially when it comes to matters of self-esteem and a sense of reality in regards to women’s bodies; however, I must question the purpose or intention of publishing SO MANY similar posts about the same topic.
I just read/viewed this post, as well as the ‘you might also like…’ post about Britney Spears’ body and airbrushing. I feel that the purpose of exposing misrepresentations is slowly becoming more about certain people feeling better about themselves and their bodies. For want of more eloquent phrasing: a ’she’s-not-really-as-good-as-we’re-made-to-think-she-is’ jealousy syndrome.
Give it a break.
The real picture of Madonna makes me laugh. In my humble opinion, it’s not that great. She looks like me after a hard day’s work at the hospital. Tired, bloated, ready for a glass of wine & and episode of The Bachelor. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it is hardly the glamour that Louis Vuitton is trying to exude, hehe! The re-touched photos are a little (alot) extreme, yes, but the originals look exactly like you would imagine an ageing woman in a fancy dress costume to look like! Weird!
Why don’t they just CGI people for gods sake!!! it could be made my an illustrator or painter. she can sell her image froma paitning rather than go to the trouble of taking a photo. Thanks for the double take. x
Hmm, I would not have guessed that was Madonna.
With apologies to Chelsea ……………I love what Mia has in her head. And I love the stuff that she brings to our attention. Fashion shoots and catwalks may be about fiction and fantasy, but when you use a well-known celebrity and you photo shoot her, the way Louis Vuitton ‘photo shot’ Madonna then that is not about fantasy. it is about a lie. Madonna is not tall, thin and beautiful. (Okay, okay, many people may think she has a lot going for her, and she certainly is great for a 51 year old, but I’m sorry, she ain’t no beauty). Louis V wanted Madonna’s selling power and that’s why he used her rather than a tall, beautiful and thin unknown. But Louis V didn’t want Madonna’s arms or whatever else he cut and smoothed over. Fantasy and fiction may have their place but when you lie about the fantasy or fiction then you create a fraud. Nicole Kidman is another one who can be made to look pretty amazing in a photo shoot, but away from the cutting board she is pretty ordinary if not weird-looking.
yeah I always find it weird that a client would pay top dollar for a personality then photoshop them so you have to ask yourself “is that Maddonna?”
odd.
Sorry, there’s no edit button. That should read, “high profile fashion designers don’t design clothes…”
I think they look very arty and dream-like. I think they are fantastic. Mia, get it into your head that fashion shoots and catwalk shows are about fiction and fantasy. No one wants to see some ordinary looking clothes on an average person, they want to see outrageous clothes on women who were blessed to be tall, thin and beautiful. High profile fashion brands don’t designer clothes for everyday, they design pieces of art that can be worn by people who can afford it. If you’ve got the money to buy brands then why not.
Well put Rachel. I agree.
I have to disagree with this one, I think the photos have been photoshopped in a very obvious way, they almost look like paintings… Surely you are not saying a blanket no no to changing any image?? This is very styalised. Surely the campaign for body image is about getting the media to choose models representitive of healthy women (given that this is presumably what everyone should be striving towards) and not completly mis representing someone – ie the photo you posted last week of the celeb and baby with a completly different body and a slogan about weight loss. These pictures do not fit into my idea of the problem of media and body image… its a cool image of an icon.
You know what would be really hot and headline grabbing: Madonna dressing her age in the most ultimate elegant classic chic a la Deneuve, Marissa Berenson, Andy McDowell, Paloma Picasso, Anouk Aimee, Iman, Lauren Hutton kind of way. That would knock my socks off. Enough with the fads – be the icon you say you are. Feeling comfortable in your skin is the ultimate is sexiness, no matter what age.
Firstly, why would you bother paying a high profile star like Madonna when you’re going to photoshop your model so much that they’ll be unrecognisable anyway?
Secondly, they photoshopped her so much that she looks like a shopping centre mannequin. Could have just used one of those instead.
However, I’m glad they retouched her arms. Cos her arms have been freaking me out for a while. They’re not cool.
i think it looks like a madonna wanna be!!!!! come whats madonna’s take on this – seriously
The arm on the left side of the untouched photo looks really weird – what is that sticking up in the middle. To me she looks every bit 51 except for the strange sinewy arm muscles and wacky clothes. No amount of plastic surgery can really make you look younger – you just look like an older person that’s had plastic surgery.
I must admit the re-touched image of Madonna makes me feel nostalgic and now I wanna turn on the stereo and dance to “Holiday”!!
In was thinking the same thing! She looks almost aristocratic in the untouched shot. She seems to have an elegance that for some reason is missing in the retouched photos. Maybe they remove personality with the “imperfections” – which is so sad, because she has soooooo much personality.
I totally agree Rachel – that was really well said! x
The photo shopped versions almost look like art works – I agree with the other comments that they are obviously fake! As for the real photos…I read a comment somewhere (and this is not 100% correct but this is the general gist) that once you reach a certain age you need to choose body or face – the inference being that if you choose a leaner body then the less fat you have will show up on your face, as wrinkles etc will look more pronounced. If you believe the logic of that comment, then Madonna has obviously chosen body!
I’m not sure about which image I would call ‘perfect’ because actually my eye finds the untouched madonna soooo much more interesting. I love the arm definition in the untouched shot and the weariness in her face. She looks tired and bored and there’s a lot more texture and fragility to her skin; particularly around her neck and breasts. In comparison what’s showing of her thigh looks firm and youthful. I think I could enjoy watching madonna age and still have respect for how she looks. The photoshop image hardly catches my eye. It’s artificial, uninteresting, doll like. I appreciate it less and judge it as less artful.
EGAD ! A Madonna doll. How spooky…………….
i think the uncomfortable position of her lying on the lounge is very doll like. almost how a doll would be propped up . i think its a beautiful shot and i’d much rather look at that than the original shot of madge. funnily enough i think she looks every bit of her age ,yoga, botox and all..
They are so obviously photoshopped I don’t have a problem with them. In fact they are artistic and I think would be seen by most that way.
I think they are lovely.
What a pity they didn’t choose to use the original photo’s of her. I get the artistic aspect to the campaign but how empowering and liberating for women would it be to see Madonna as she is?
my mum looks younger than her. she’s 51 too
She looks about the same age as my mum….which is 56
I agree with what many commenters are saying about this one…it is so obviously styled and effected that I am not completely outraged by it.
Still I do agree that all manipulated images should have a “FICTION” stamp on them…just to make it clear that these are not real photos and do not depict reality.
This, though is not as dangerous for mine as the shots that actually attempt to pass for real life.
The interesting point though was the one Happy Mum made…did they photoshop Gorbachev? Or is photoshop a tool to use to merely save us from the horror of the “real” woman??
yes… that was my first impression… her doll like image is not supposed to look liker her photograph in my opinion
She’s 5 years younger than my mother, so 15 years older than me!
I’m horrified that people are saying her unretouched photo makes her look every one of her 51 years and uses words like “wrinkles”. OK, her neck isn’t as smooth as her face, but I know many women in their 30s who don’t look as good as that. Surely, all that plastic surgery entitles her to at least looking 40! Or is it just that we are so used to looking at photos of women who have been stretched, plumped and smoothed out by various surgery / injectable options that we’ve forgotten what a “normal” 50 year old woman looks like! (I qualify my statement by saying I am not in the least a fan of Madge. At all.)
If you look at the retouched images as “pop art” then all well and good, I think. They’re a bit similar to the Charlie Brown photos of Lady (Sonia) McMahon a while ago. Equally scary and non-reality based!
I agree with PG, those pics are clearly meant to look manipulated.
Madonna looks good, but every bit her 51 years in the un retouched pic.
I agree too.
Agree
To me they look obviously manipulated for a specific pop-art, highly stylised type of look. Don’t get the issue with this one, as to me they aren’t trying to pass her appearance off as real.
I want to know did Louis Vuitton Photoshop Mikhael Gorbechov? (I know that is NOT how to spell it) When he did their campaign a couple of years ago.
I think that Madonna is such an icon that she does not need to be photoshopped and if they put clothes on her that are stylish, (but not what a 15year old would wear) I would think it would have more clout in avertising their bags than making her fairly unrecognisable.
But that is just how I would style her if I was advertising manager of Louis Vuitton.
I think they should have left her wrinkly face as it really is because she has had a good 50 years of life and you can see more of life’s journey and keep it real. Because she is a icon of our time.
Does that make sense to anyone?
I don’t get it?! – she looks fantastic in all those pictures – the obviously shopped photos are meant to look surreal
i agree, i dont always agree with photoshopping the hell out of everything but this shot of madge is going for the fantasy angle and thats fine. do we really always want to just see the real stuff, wrinkles, dark circles etc , cant we relax a little particularly with photos like this that are for pleasure factor only.
its like an alice in wonderland tribute to madonna the icon.
i agree. The shot looks arty to me. She is meant to look plastic like barbie, look at the fingers, heck the bag even looks plastic.
I think it’s just meant to be fun and a little arty. I’m okay with it. x
She’s two years OLDER than my mother.
Yeah, I think the criticism in this case is undermined by the fact that she’s obviously not meant to look ‘natural’. It’s clearly an homage to her pop icon status. The image is littered with the iconography of her image that she either adopted–the playgirl persona–or contributed to making a part of the fashion of the 80s–the fingerless gloves, the bubble skirt. This reading is underlined by the deliberate resemblance to that other popular icon, Barbie. Add to that the retro style bags and it’s difficult to believe that the advertisers or Louis Vuitton were attempting to do anything that evoke the era when Madonna first became enormously popular.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by miafreedman: Today’s Little Photoshop Of Horrors brought to you by: Madonna & Louis Vuitton http://bit.ly/btIimt (via @30dollardate)…
very porcelain doll like.
When even bother using people at all?
Why not just plastic blow up dolls that look like freaky little aliens?
How uncomfortable does she look on the couch???
I totally condone photoshopping the shit out of Madonna.
She is a good market pitch, but she is dreadfully unattractive.
She’s been magically photoshopped to have what I call “Barbie skin” – smooth, plastic and totally unreal. It’s so fake that I really, really hope we are getting to the point where people realise that no-one, no matter whether their Madonna or the supposed most beautiful supermodel in the world, actually looks like that. We need to teach children, young people – heck – everyone – that if you are comparing how you look to this and feeling bad about yourself because your skin or body is supposedly not as great – you’re comparing yourself to an entirely fabricated lie. It’s total BS and needs to be seen for what it is – fantasy. Apart from the basic ’shell’ that is Madonna (and some may argue not even that), the edited photo’s are a million miles removed from what she looks like in real life.
My first thought was, if you couldn’t photoshop Madonna, she wouldn’t do the campaign, and they’d use some 14year old. Maybe photoshop is the lesser of two evils. I don’t see fashion houses deciding to use average women to promote their fantastically priced goods.
I think that I see this very differently because it is obviously distorted for an art effect and is so dramatically done that I don’t really think it’s been hidden in a way of making subtle changes to her look.
It is definitely not made to look realistic and maybe even somewhat futuristic… wouldn’t this be the look of the campaign that Louis Vuitton is going for? and maybe it’s not really any kind of comment or expression of Madonna’s body/image/age?
Yes, maybe it should come with a footnote of fiction but it kind of already screams that to me.
Please don’t jump on me for not being understanding of photo shopping because I really am and I am in complete support of what Mia has been campaigning.
I’m sure you’ve also seen this, Mia:
http://jezebel.com/5195724/photoshop-of-horrors
Jezebel keeps a running check on what they call Photoshop of Horrors: it’s VERY educational!
Judith
I can make myself look like that using the “glow” effect on Photo Booth.
She looks like a Sims 3 avatar.
The photoshopped images make her look like a blow up doll….?
In the unphotoshopped image she looks a bit tired i.e. like a normal woman.
Madonna is unrecognizable in the re-touched pictures. I wonder what she thinks about it all???
And those boots are smokin.
She is 9 years younger than my mother! I think she looks pretty damn fine for someone her age. The photoshop just makes her look like a weird alien.