UPDATE: Gigi Hadid has since removed the photo of her Vogue Italia cover from her Instagram account.
PEOPLE reports the model shared an Instagram story explaining she had no creative control over the image.
“Please understand that my control of a shoot 1. is non existent in terms of creative direction 2. ends completely when I leave set, and anything done to a photo in post is out of my control fully,” she wrote.
Gigi Hadid is on the cover of this month’s issue of Vogue Italia.
Or that’s what we’ve been told, at least.
We’re confused because the woman dressed in a sparkly jumpsuit, sitting on man’s lap on the cover of the Italian fashion magazine looks nothing like Gigi.
Before we noticed the 23-year-old model's name on the cover, we didn't realise it was her. And even after she shared the image on her Instagram, we weren't totally convinced.
You see, someone's done something to this image of Gigi. Something to make her look completely unrecognisable. The young woman's image hasn't just been altered with photoshop, it's been distorted to the point where she looks like a different person.
We weren't the only ones to notice the completely unsubtle changes. Fans were quick to comment on her Instagram post that she looked like a totally new human. As one commenter put it, it looks like the photo editing department "thinned your face, took away your jaw bone structure and changed/narrowed your nose".
"Literally can’t tell this is her. If it didn’t have her name I wouldn’t be able to guess who it is."
"Uh where did Gigi go?"
"Wow I didn’t recognize you."
"Looks nothing like you."
"That’s def not you. Doesn’t look like you at all."
"Looks nothing like her, looks like she overdid it on the tan."
"Don’t look like you... in a kinda troubling way."
It goes on.
Laura Brown, the editor in chief role at InStyle in America, would never do this to a woman's face. She tells Mia how she landed her high-profile gig. Post continues.
Others questioned whether the extreme filter on the image, combined perhaps with a spray-tan, had leached into blackface territory.
"Why do you look black?" asked one person.
"Yeah, why hire a black model when we can paint Gigi’s complete body and face to look like one..."
"Get an actual ethnic model," pleaded another.
We're not sure if the team at Vogue Italia intended to make look Gigi look like anything other than the caucasian American she clearly is - but if their goal was to make her look completely unrecognisable: mission accomplished.
Top Comments
Just hire a “black “ model already. Some of them are seriously stunning.
Exactly. And far better models than the Hadid/Jenner crew, too.
A real model (as opposed to a born-rich Insta-famous personality) wouldn't need so much alteration to make her look legit.
She is heavily altered in this image, and yes is born rich and insta famous, but you can't deny her model quality - her look is versatile and unique, particularly in print.
I can absolutely deny her model quality. She is light years away from the quality of the real supermodels of the 1990's - the latter had that "it" factor the Hadids can only dream of. If Dad hadn't bought her a career, she'd just be another pretty rich girl hanging around the yacht circuit.
She’s an awful model, she’s as bland as can be. Her sister at least has some angles to her face.
No model today is like the supermodel's of the 90's - times have changed and the look that is in demand has changed. We are seeing a lot more diversity and embracing of imperfections both on the catwalk and in print, which I think can only be a good thing.
Will have to agree to disagree.