Photoshopped Modesty

Internationally acclaimed model Gisele Bundchen’s new advertisement for high street fashion H&M may not be half as racy as some of the other ones these days — Eva Mendes’ underwear campaign for Calvin Klein for instance — but it was considered “too much” for Dubai. A series of pictures the Brazilian supermodel shot for H&M have been allegedly Photoshopped to suit the conservative market of the Middle East. Her arms and cleavage which were bare in the original photos now are “covered”. A white tank has been photoshopped onto her exposed cleavage in one picture,where she wears a flower-print jumpsuit,while in another picture where she wears a ruffled top,sleeves have been digitally added to cover up her arms. These digitally handled pictures are aimed just for H&M’s Middle East campaign,unavailable for documentary use even in the

Indian market.

This is not the first time that the 30-year-old stunner has had a Photoshop encounter. Two years ago,when she was pregnant,she posed for a London Fog campaign wearing nothing but a trenchcoat. The brand had her small baby bump digitally removed in order to,as they said in a statement,“protect her privacy”. An excuse that didn’t hold water considering other parts of her body were blithely exposed. As for the latest H&M campaign,so far the there has been no official statement from the brand. But you can copywrite one yourself. Call it Modesty Management.