Vogue Netherlands shoots Ymre Stiekema breastfeeding, internet howls "NSFW"!

Vogue via HuffPo

My only concern is whether or not this pic features her own baby. Ms. Stiekema gave birth to a baby girl last December, but the one in the picture looks rather young.

I don't know why I'd think that a mother deciding to objectify her own baby is better than objectifying someone else's. But the idea of breastfeeding portraits is quite well established, from the Virgin Mary to Kate Hansen. And I think they do a society good, no matter how pretentious. (I'm looking at you, Erwin Olaf.)

Nonetheless, The Huffington Post shared the pic with an "NSFW" (not safe for work) warning, and The Cut's headline was "Have You Seen Naked Breast-feeding Vogue Model Mom?"

The baby was unavailable for comment.

Benetton goes back to advertising actual clothes

Via The Drum

Yeah, that's right. After years of pushing the boundaries of shock advertising, culminating with 2011's extremely popular/controversial Unhate campaign, Benetton suddenly remembered what it is that they sell: Not just attitude, but the means to express it.

From the Press Release:

The future of United Colors of Benetton is ever more colourful. Newly interpreted, color returns to the forefront in an iconic Spring/Summer 2013 fashion campaign which uses the original stories of a cosmopolitan team of ambassadors to illustrate United Colors of Benetton's passion, innovation and openness to the world, looking to the future and embracing the challenges of tomorrow.  

This campaign breaks new ground for the Benetton Group brand. Starting this season and using an ever changing set of ambassadors, it rolls out a totally new format based – in the words of Chairman Alessandro Benetton – on “the iconic value of color – a founding value for United Colors of Benetton and once again at the centre of our aesthetics and communications – to give a powerful assertion of the identity and excellence of this brand, which holds diversity as a value, and the unity of differences as a wealth to be treasured.” 

The 2013 campaign features Sudanese humanitarian activist Alek Wek (above), Tunisian model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, British actress/model/granddaughter-of-Charlie-Chaplin Kiera Chaplin, Californian mode Charlotte Free, British actor and model Dudley O’Shaughnessy, differently-abled German model Mario Galla, Uruguayan chef Matias Perdomo, trans-sexual Brazilian model Lea T, , and American model Elettra Wiedemann.

Charlotte Free, via Vogue Italia

Dudley O’Shaughnessy, via Vogue Italia

Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, via Vogue Italia

Kiera Chaplin, via Vogue Italia

Lea T, via Vogue Italia

Mario Galla, Via Vogue Italia

Elettra Wiedemann, via Vogue Italia

Matias Perdomo, via Vogue Italia

Not exactly all the "colours" of the world represented here (and nobody is fat or old) but Benetton claims they chose their models more based on who they are than where they came from. It's a good approach, going back-to-basics, while still clearly positioning Benetton as a brand for global diversity and individual expression. It may not win them a lot of hardware at Cannes, but by showing the product maybe... just maybe...  they'll actually sell more of it.

The campaign was developed under the creative direction of Fabrica (in-house) in cooperation with Macs Iotti.

Vogue's weird tribute to Hurricane Sandy rescue workers

According to Refinery29, this Vogue photoshoot of models Karlie Kloss, Chanel Iman, and Arizona Muse next to Hurricane Sandy first responders "is trying to glam up the crucial, hard-working, and decidedly unglamorous heroes".

Shot by Annie Leibowitz, the series at first looks like some kind of sick joke. But Stylite reports that it's part of a very real commitment by Vogue:

Vogue teamed up with the CFDA to raise $1.7 million for relief efforts through their Fashion for Sandy Relief auction, which offered lots like tea with Grace Coddington and an internship stint with DKNY‘s PR guru Aliza Licht. 

In the February issue, the magazine is honoring New York’s heroic emergency response teams who got the city back on its feet after the storm, and are still working in the harder hit areas to this day, with a powerful and beautifully-photographed editorial. Annie Leibovitz photographed models like Karlie Kloss, Chanel Iman, and Arizona Muse alongside members of the NYPD Special Ops, nurses at Bellevue Hospital‘s neonatal care unit, firefighters from FDNY’s Far Rockaway house, officers from the National Guard‘s 69th Infantry, servicemen from the US Coast Guard, and workers from Con Edison. 

Often, fashion magazines can seem tone deaf when it comes to dealing with current affairs and larger issues, but in this case, we think Leibovitz’s lens conveys the strength of the teams and magnitude of the event with grace.

 Nice pics. But I have to admit, I doubt I'll ever totally "get" fashion...