Alyssa Miller as Babette March
Two things about this one pop up again and again in the
rest. 1) The 2013 reproduction is a lot stiffer and less natural than the
original, and 2) they’ve skimpied up the swimsuit.
The stiffer pose is understandable. The original one was
free to be what it wanted, and the image captured was a happy accident. But the
modern one has to conform as best it can to that fraction of a second, so it’s
not going to look as natural.
As for the other issue, I do kind of miss the big 1960s
bikini bottoms Babette wore. If you’re going to go retro, go retro!
The precautions Alyssa had to take have already been
lovingly covered in this space.
I’m partial to this one.
• • •
Anne V as Elle Macpherson
This one is odd, because they seem to have shot Anne facing
the opposite direction. I think they flipped it for the print edition.
Also, out of Elle’s five covers (three solo), they picked my
least favorite to recreate.
MJ Day says in one of the making-of videos that Anne is a
dead ringer for Elle, which struck me as false, until I browsed Anne’s oeuvre.
There may be a bit of a resemblance, actually.
Better Shot
As an ass man, I was taken with this one.
• • •
Chrissy Teigen as Tannia Rubiano
Okay, so there’s about one-twentieth the amount of “fabric”
on Chrissy’s body, but I suppose modern audiences wouldn’t stand for a skirt of
paint all around Chrissy’s thighs.
It’s a cute shot, and probably the most successful of the
bunch at capturing the original pose. But it also highlights another huge
difference from era to era: look at Chrissy’s slender little hips compared to
the full, curvy pelvis of Tannia. It’s the type of difference I don’t notice
looking at today’s photos on their own, but man, it sure is apparent how our
beauty standards have changed over the decades when you see them side-by-side.
I have to say, I prefer the 1971 body. Give us some hips!
Better Shot
This one’s pretty sweet.
• • •
Kate Upton as Daniela Pestova
Did someone order some hips?
Part of this may be an optical illusion caused by the
significantly smaller painted-on bikini bottom. But there’s no denying that
Kate has fuller hips than Daniela did. And Kate’s immense popularity may
indicate that the pendulum is swinging toward curves, or at least a greater
range of what’s considered an attractive model’s body type. Go Kate!
The recreation suffers from the requisite stiffness, but
Kate is up to the task. I’ve long ago given up my resistance. I am seduced, and
resigned to my Kate fate.
Better Shot
Sigh.
• • •
Nina Agdal and Ariel Meredith as Valeria Mazza and Tyra
Banks
Just delightful. I have no complaints about this pairing.
The original cover was great, the reproduction manages to capture the fun
sexiness of it.
I love Ariel—she’s one of my favorites of the current crop
of models. Desert island, I actually think I’d take Ariel over Tyra. Valeria
would win out over Nina. So to sum up, this desert island has a population
consisting of 1) me, 2) 1996 Valeria Mazza, and 3) 2013 Ariel Meredith.
Better Shot
Together, I like this one.
(Kathy and Elle knew it too.)
Individually, I like this Nina:
…and this Ariel:
• • •
By the way, Tyra and Daniela have now had both of their
covers recreated, first by Marisa Miller and second by bodypaint.
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