Why Coco Rocha is pissed about her Elle Brasil cover?

[Nepenthes]

by Hayley Phelan at fashionista.com

Coco Rocha has a pretty well-known no nudity or partial nudity policy when it comes to her modeling work–so it may have come as a surprise to her fans that the supermodel posed nearly topless for the cover of Elle Brazil. Turns out, it came as a surprise to Coco as well.

Apparently, Coco was actually wearing a flesh colored body suit under the sheer dress, which the magazine saw fit to photoshop out, despite her instructions to do otherwise. Obviously, the supermodel was none too happy about this, and took to her Tumblr to vent her frustration:

As a high fashion model I have long had a policy of no nudity or partial nudity in my photo shoots. For my recent Elle Brazil cover shoot I wore a body suit under a sheer dress which I now find was photoshopped out to give the impression of me showing much more skin than I was, or am comfortable with. This was specifically against my expressed verbal and written direction to the entire team that they not do so. I’m extremely disappointed that my wishes and contract was ignored. I strongly believe every model has a right to set rules for how she is portrayed and for me these rules were clearly circumvented.

As an advisory board member to the Model Alliance, the issue of a model’s rights is obviously one close to Coco’s heart. And though this probably isn’t the first (or last) time a model’s rules were “circumvented,” it’s pretty rare that a model will actually speak out about it for fear of losing future jobs so we commend Coco for having the guts to say something to her millions of fans. Then again, perhaps the whole thing was a misunderstanding between the Canadian model and the Brazilian magazine’s team, who most likely did not share the same first language (we’ve reached out to Elle Brazil and are waiting for comment.)

Thoughts on this?

 

[Fatalefashion]

Why Coco Rocha Is Pissed about Her Elle Brasil Cover

fashionista

Coco Rocha you don't is a superstar, Please Elle Brasil next time calling for someone more simple maybe Christy Turlington, Eva Herzigova. And not amateurs sad with Coco

 

[agee]

Ooo me likey. I was liking it when I just saw her face and then I scrolled down and saw the entire image and squealed, this is amazing!!!

Now that that is out of the way, Coco Rocha needs to get over herself. This is one of the best covers of her career, and that is really saying something since she is such a great print model and has produced quite a few great covers. I have made comments against gratuitous nudity and I respect her taking a stance, but I am not even getting how this crosses the line, it shows cleavage and in fact I am pretty sure I have seen runway pictures, and more importantly dresses that she has worn to events, that were just as revealing. I can respect that she does like to be nude on set, well really braless, and chooses to wear a body suit as a precaution against a nip slip or somesuch, but her objection to the body suit being edited out seems a bit much... bai gurl.

ETA:
IMO she should have said nothing, or if some random person made it into an issue, just made a matter of fact statement that she wore a body suit and it was edited out.

 

[Jenna16]

I agree, Coco should keep her mouth shut. If she's pissed then just don't work with them again.

Didn't she also get upset about some Terry Richardson shoot for VP because she was portrayed as possessed by the devil or something?

I feel like if you are going to be that picky/upset about how you are portrayed, you're probably in the wrong business. There are many girls that would kill to have a Elle Brazil cover or and ed in VP with Terry and she comes off as a bit ungrateful, imo.

 

[Bertrando3]

Coco Rocha needs to get over herself. This is one of the best covers of her career, and that is really saying something since she is such a great print model and has produced quite a few great covers. I have made comments against gratuitous nudity and I respect her taking a stance, but I am not even getting how this crosses the line, it shows cleavage and in fact I am pretty sure I have seen runway pictures, and more importantly dresses that she has worn to events, that were just as revealing. ETA: IMO she should have said nothing, or if some random person made it into an issue, just made a matter of fact statement that she wore a body suit and it was edited out.

I agree, Coco should keep her mouth shut. If she's pissed then just don't work with them again.

How come it's wrong to stand up for what you believe in??? I can't believe some people may think like this!!! She is one of those rare top models with core values who respect themselves and decided to show their personalities along the way. Coco is true champion of talk when it comes to modeling! The magazine totally ignored her and it's very disrespectful to have done this to her! To have worn dresses on the runway who were just as revealing has nothing to do with that! She basically decided to do her career with rules and principles and she has to be honored just for that. ***

Coco Rocha you don't is a superstar, Please Elle Brasil next time calling for someone more simple maybe Christy Turlington, Eva Herzigova. And not amateurs sad with Coco

Where does Coco's profesionalism entered into this?

 

[Nepenthes]

I agree, Coco should keep her mouth shut. If she's pissed then just don't work with them again.

Didn't she also get upset about some Terry Richardson shoot for VP because she was portrayed as possessed by the devil or something?

I feel like if you are going to be that picky/upset about how you are portrayed, you're probably in the wrong business. There are many girls that would kill to have a Elle Brazil cover or and ed in VP with Terry and she comes off as a bit ungrateful, imo.

First off, I think that Coco's career shows that she's definitely not in the wrong buisness.

Speaking out about the fact that the team of ELLE Brasil ignored her contract doesn't make her ungrateful. It just shows that she stands up for herself. (It seems that the post she made earlier about this cover is no longer visible on her fb page. I'm confused. :S )

However, this is one of my favourite covers she has ever done. It's just beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the editorial!

 

[Jenna16]

First off, I think that Coco's career shows that she's definitely not in the wrong buisness.

Speaking out about the fact that the team of ELLE Brasil ignored her contract doesn't make her ungrateful. It just shows that she stands up for herself. (It seems that the post she made earlier about this cover is no longer visible on her fb page. I'm confused. :S )

However, this is one of my favourite covers she has ever done. It's just beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the editorial!

I agree that Coco has done some great work as a model. I'm not saying otherwise. But if the fashion/modeling business does not share the same core values that Coco has and feels strongly about, maybe she is not the right one of the job. For example anyone who is seriously opposed to fur and would not ever want to be photographed wearing it, probably should not be in the business.

As for what the contract said, I haven't read it. I don't know what exactly it says and I don't know whether or not it was actually violated. I guess my way of thinking is innocent until proven guilty. As the article suggested, the issue may have been a language barrier. If the contract was really/unquestionably violated, then I do agree that Coco deserves some sort of compensation and she has the right to be upset. But as of now, I find it hard to believe that Elle Magazine would purposely violate a non-nudity contract and photoshopping out the impression of her nude shirt was not considered a breech of the contract.

Still lashing out on facebook or twitter, I don't think is the classiest way to deal with such an issue and makes her sound a bit petty, imo. The cover looks very tasteful and classy. The whole thing just doesn't seem like a big deal to me. It's not like they photoshopped her face onto the body of a nude women. Is she even certain it wasn't a misunderstanding. Has she talked to Elle Brazil? Perhaps she should confront them first.

 

[Nepenthes]

I agree that Coco has done some great work as a model. I'm not saying otherwise. But if the fashion/modeling business does not share the same core values that Coco has and feels strongly about, maybe she is not the right one of the job. For example anyone who is seriously opposed to fur and would not ever want to be photographed wearing it, probably should not be in the business.

As for what the contract said, I haven't read it. I don't know what exactly it says and I don't know whether or not it was actually violated. I guess my way of thinking is innocent until proven guilty. As the article suggested, the issue may have been a language barrier. If the contract was really/unquestionably violated, then I do agree that Coco deserves some sort of compensation and she has the right to be upset. But as of now, I find it hard to believe that Elle Magazine would purposely violate a non-nudity contract and photoshopping out the impression of her nude shirt was not considered a breech of the contract.

Still lashing out on facebook or twitter, I don't think is the classiest way to with such an issue and makes her sound a bit petty, imo. Is she even certain it wasn't a misunderstanding. Has she talked to Elle Brazil? Perhaps she should confront them first.

I don't think that someone who is, for example, against fur shouldn't be in the fashion industry. Not everyone can share the same views and it's not like that fashion can't exist without fur or what have you. It's as if you're saying that whoever has different views from most people in fashion shouldn't be in the industry.. And I totally disagree with this. It's all about being true to yourself no matter what industry you're part of.
Now, about the situation with this cover, maybe you're right. Maybe the issue was a language barrier. And if that's the case, maybe Coco got mad(remember she is human like the rest of us) and rushed into the conclusion that her contract was violated. I guess we can't really know until further notice.
Saying she sounds petty because she spoke her mind on social networking sites doesn't sound quite right to me. That's what facebook/tumblr/twitter etc are there for.

BTW, I don't know if this means something, but the post she made about the cover on her facebook has been taken down(although it's still on her tumblr and twitter). So maybe -and hopefully- this was all a big misunderstanding.

 

[Jenna16]

I don't think that someone who is, for example, against fur shouldn't be in the fashion industry. Not everyone can share the same views and it's not like that fashion can't exist without fur or what have you. It's as if you're saying that whoever has different views from most people in fashion shouldn't be in the industry.. And I totally disagree with this. It's all about being true to yourself no matter what industry you're part of.
Now, about the situation with this cover, maybe you're right. Maybe the issue was a language barrier. And if that's the case, maybe Coco got mad(remember she is human like the rest of us) and rushed into the conclusion that her contract was violated. I guess we can't really know until further notice.
Saying she sounds petty because she spoke her mind on social networking sites doesn't sound quite right to me. That's what facebook/tumblr/twitter etc are there for.

BTW, I don't know if this means something, but the post she made about the cover on her facebook has been taken down(although it's still on her tumblr and twitter). So maybe -and hopefully- this was all a big misunderstanding.

Well, if you got pissed at someone at work or a client for doing something. Would you immediately rant about them on twitter or facebook? Sounds very unprofessional to me.

I believe in choosing your battles. If this is a serious issue and Coco's contract was clearly violated, I think it is better to get the facts straight and really consider the issue and the facts before making such a statement. Again, I agree, Coco is only human and maybe she made a mistake and she now realizes it which is why she took it off her facebook.

I agree that in a perfect world everyone would be able to do the job they wanted on their terms and uphold their values. But that's not what we are living in. In a competitive industry like modeling, those who protest against certain things that are commonplace in the business are going to jeopardize their career. And unfortunately sometimes you have to choose between your career or values. No one forced Coco to be a model, it was her choice And this is not just true for modeling but many other jobs as well. If you're a pacifist, don't freely enlist in the armed forces. I mean if someone wants to be a hf model and refuses to wear fur, good for them. I wish them the best. But realistically, if they are shooting for Vogue US and they tell Anna Wintour that they won't wear fur.... well I don't see that going very well.

But we can agree to disagree

 

[congacon]

i totally agree that coco should speak her mind on something that she believes in. y models have to let the industry/designers/magazines bully them?

modelling in general is a sh*tty career. how many models can make a living out of modelling? a handful? and if they indeed made it then they had to keep their mouth shut and being bossed around like no one's business.

models are being treated badly bc they dont stand up for themselves. every model is afraid of not making it on the cover of vogue or getting campaigns.

i applaud coco for having balls to speak up her mind. MODELS NEED RESPECT TOO!

 

[Nepenthes]

^^Well, it would certainly be hard if someone shot for Vogue US and refused to wear fur if that's how they were meant to be styled.

But yeah, we can agree to disagree.

Seems that Coco's post is back on her facebook page. She probably had it hidden from her timeline and put it back on now. I'm really curious to see how this turns out.

 

[Fatalefashion]

Hi Bertrando3,

I did not mention about she thinks, ideas or something...
(We live in a democracy)

I'm talking about unprofessional position about Coco, i think she was so impulsive in their actions.


Well.... what is this? Playboy cover? OMGGGGGG - The end of world.

http://cocorocha.com/

 

[agee]

I will concede that if there was a verbal or written agreement that specifically stated something to the effect that any undergarments or illusion garments are not to be photo edited, and if that happened, then a violation occurred and it is Coco's prerogative to publicly protest because I do believe that a lot of shady stuff happens in the fashion industry, and if it is dealt with at all, it is often done on the QT. The thing is, and maybe I am too dense to see it, but I am not seeing nudity or partial nudity. The reason that I brought up other things that she has worn is because I was trying to look at it from her perspective - in her statement she wrote that the image gave "the impression of [her] showing much more skin than [she] was, or [is] comfortable with," and I have seen images of her from the last year or so where, at least to my eye, she is exposing a similar amount of skin, I don't think that I have seen her wear anything that has plunged that low, but I have seen her in ensembles that show cleavage.

ETA:
I did look at the image more closely, and there is a cutout on the bust area so perhaps that is the source of contention.

 

[Nepenthes]

Coco Rocha Could Sue Elle Brazil for Not Honoring Her No-Nudity Policy

fashionologie

 

[Jenna16]

Coco Rocha Could Sue Elle Brazil for Not Honoring Her No-Nudity Policy

fashionologie

Well, you can sue anybody for anything so of course she can. If she does, I believe the court will fairly interpret the contract/assess the issue and whether or not it goes in Coco's favor. Again, I haven't read the contract so I don't know what it says.

 

[Nepenthes]

I'm just waiting to see how ELLE Brasil responds to Coco's frustration.

 

[congacon]

y people can't respect her choice?

you can't bring her old covers to demonstrate the level of nudity in her work. people change, what she did in the past doesnt mean it will reflect her future works. she could do nude in the past but now decided not to do it anymore.

in this case, she did wear undergarment during the photoshoot. so clearly she didn't want to show any of the nudity. so if elle brazil decided to photoshop the shot then they should have at least let her know.

i do not see any major problem with the cover regarding the nudity but i think everyone should respect coco's choice.

 

[Jenna16]

^^Well, it would certainly be hard if someone shot for Vogue US and refused to wear fur if that's how they were meant to be styled.

But yeah, we can agree to disagree.

If you get booked for a shoot for Vogue US would you really know whether or not you would be wearing a piece with fur until you showed up at the shoot. Of course you could ask about it or say that you refuse to shoot with fur beforehand, but I think it would probably just make Vogue US not want to book you; unless you are a really big name and they would happily agree to anything just to have you, which is probably more likely the case with actresses not models.

 

[Nepenthes]

i do not see any major problem with the cover regarding the nudity but i think everyone should respect coco's choice.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[MyNameIs]

I totally support and respect her self-proclaimed wish not to do nudity. I think an attitude that if you're a model you should expect to do nudity is ridiculous.

However, here's my confusion in all this, how did she not think this was going to happen? If they were going to publish an image of her in this dress (which is quite revealing lbh), did she honestly think they were going to allow it to be obvious that she's wearing a body suit underneath? Maybe I'm wrong about the point of the body suit to begin with, but isn't it to give the illusion of nudity without actually having the model nude? If so, that's exactly what Elle Brazil did.

So either, Coco was really naive bordering on foolish. Or she's not being honest here.