I’m not feeling Liya Kebede’s cover and editorial for Grazia magazine’s December issue.
Here’s why: I take issue with the fact that Kebede was photographed with her mouth open, not just on the cover, on every page of her editorial.
STORY: Liya Kebede Lands L’Oreal Paris Campaign!
Yes, the story is about make-up but I feel the photographer should have done more than just instruct the L’Oreal Paris spokeswoman, merchandiser and mom, to open her mouth wide for every frame as if she’s a porn actor. Where is the allure?
The images of Liya recalled Annie Leibovitz’s disastrous photographs of Jennifer Hudson and the LeBron James-Gisele Bundchen Vogue covers shot by Annie Leibovitz a few years back. Those images looked sloppy, unprofessional and racist, to me.
They reinforced a stereotype of black women as happy darkies, receptacles for sex, and black males as savages who ravage white womanhood when they were published. This Grazia shoot borders on that.
The video above takes you behind the scenes of the shoot which took place in London in October and the title of the editorial is “Ruee vers Lor,” French for Gold Rush. Sex is definitely the topic of discussion on set but as a consumer of photographic images, I think Grazia dropped the ball.
Images of the shoot are can be found here.
What do you think, am I over reacting? Holla!
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Liya Kebede for Grazia magazine December 2011
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Liya Kebede for Grazia magazine December 2011
