ARTIST'S INTERPRETATION: Magazine editors often change the photo portrait that appears in their editor's letters as often as they change their shirts. But how many have appeared as a Simpsons character?
Glenda Bailey now has such bragging rights, appearing as a Simpsonized cartoon in her editor's letter along with Marge Simpson in the front row of a fashion show. The August issue of Harper's Bazaar features an eight-page feature by Simpsons illustrator
Julius Preite where the fictional family goes to Paris with
Linda Evangelista (also caricatured). The Simpsons appear with cartoon versions of
Donatella Versace, Lanvin's
Alber Elbaz, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier and
Marc Jacobs. Most editors scrutinize their photos to make sure they capture the fewest wrinkles or whitest smiles, so wasn't Bailey, who wears a white Lanvin top in the photo, concerned that Preite's animated treatment — especially that jaundiced tone particular to the residents of Springfield — would be unflattering? "There's no bad side to being Simpsonized," Bailey commented. Meanwhile, Marge Simpson would have blocked many a market editor's view with her trademark sky-high blue hair. Surely a front-row gatekeeper would have relegated her to the back, right? "I sat next to
Mike Tyson once, but I guess it wasn't his hair that was big," Bailey quipped. We assume she was talking about his muscles.
— Stephanie D. Smith
LOSING FAITH: The cover of a magazine remains one of the few venues where celebrities are spared the warts and all coverage of the tabloid age. But upon launching in May, the Gawker media blog Jezebel promised $10,000 to anyone who could undermine that safety zone with the best example of a pre-retouched magazine cover photo. On Monday, the winning before-and-after photos were released from the July cover of Redbook. More than just smoothing
Faith Hill's crow's-feet, the photo also radically transforms the 39-year-old's arm, shrinking its circumference and removing its elbow bend. The hand in her lap and drooping skin on her back also disappear.
E ditor in chief
Stacy Morrison said, "The retouching we did on Faith Hill's photo for the July cover of Redbook is completely in line with industry standards. We are investigating how the unretouched images got released." (How far will that $10,000 stretch if the culprit is found?)
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