The Libertine

A topless,  sand-covered Gisele Bundchen stars in  Vogue Paris’s June issue, the first edition following the publication’s new worldwide ‘Health Initiative’; photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. The article includes stories about reasonable exercise, healthy nutrition, and an exclusive interview with Bundchen about how she keeps in shape. Beginning May 24th with the distribution of Vogue Paris June, all 19 editions of Vogue will start following a set of global health responsibility guidelines that will promote a healthier body image in the pages of the magazine. Vogue Paris and Vogue U.S. — which yesterday debuted a cover featuring three Olympic athletes — have dedicated their June issues to the topic of health (Vogue Nippon’s health issue will follow in July).

“Vogue believes that good health is beautiful,” said Condé Nast International chairman Jonathan Newhouse. “Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers…”

Vogue’s Health Initiative builds on similar ‘model-health programs’ that have come before; In 2006, Madrid Fashion Week became the first fashion institution to ban the use of overly skinny models. Following the change in Europe, the CFDAlaunched it’s own Health Initiative in 2007; asking for healthy backstage environments, and a banning models under 16 from walking the runway during New York Fashion Week. What an inspiring and positive change for readers everywhere! Little by little, the ideal of beauty that women are being sold in the media (while it’s may continue to be horrendously miss-representative) is becoming less ‘sick’ all the time. Yay Vogue!!! Thank you for continuing to lead the industry standard in quality and excellence…even as the market and your audiences’ needs continue to evolve.

Enjoy!!!!

(P.S. Neither myself, nor any person I know, looks like this in a bikini people! Interesting choice of the face to put on this ‘Healthy Initiative’..stunning as she may be)

The Vogue magazine editors-in-chief who have signed up to The Health Initiative are:

Emmanuelle Alt, Vogue France; Christiane Arp, Vogue Germany; Angelica Cheung, Vogue China; Kirstie Clements, Vogue Australia; Victoria Davydova, Vogue Russia; Seda Domanic, Vogue Turkey; Daniela Falcao, Vogue Brazil; Myung Hee Lee, Vogue Korea; Elena Makri, Vogue Greece; Paula Mateus, Vogue Portugal; Yolanda Sacristan, Vogue Spain; Alexandra Shulman, Vogue United Kingdom; Franca Sozzani, Vogue Italy; Karin Swerink, Vogue Netherlands; Kelly Talamas, Vogue Mexico; Priya Tanna, Vogue India; Mitsuko Watanabe, Vogue Japan; Anna Wintour, Vogue United States; and Sky Wu, Vogue Taiwan.