Why This Unretouched Victoria’s Secret Photo Is Super Inspiring

Victoria's Secret released a photo of model Jasmine Tookes showing off Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Bright Night Fantasy Bra, estimated to be worth $3 million (£2.5 million). But the photo itself is priceless. As Cosmopolitan points out, the photo features an unretouched Tookes showing off the 450-carat bra and her stretch marks. (You know, those lines most of us have but that usually end up being Photoshopped right out of ads like this?) Victoria's Secret have often been called out for their Photoshop fails, including removing a butt cheek. This past summer, a woman who worked as a photo retoucher for Victoria's Secret revealed to Refinery29 that (surprise!) no woman's body actually looks like the ones in those catalogue photos. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was often “adding meat on their bones” and would be asked to make breasts rounder, higher, perfectly symmetrical, and of course, larger. (“They all have [size] A’s,” she said.) But, this photo, which was released without explanation, shows that maybe Victoria's Secret is looking to get away from that kind of retouching and follow Aerie's body positive lead. In 2014, the American Eagle offshoot lingerie brand stopped using Photoshop and saw an increase in sales. This photo could mean that Victoria's Secret is going to finally start showing models that look more like the women who are buying their products. Not to mention, it might allow the models to look more like their beautifully natural selves. Tune in on the 5th of December to see Tookes, the first woman of colour to model the Fantasy Bra in nine years, strut her stuff in the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.