Sharon Stone for Spanish Vogue Causes Conflict

My friend recently returned from a trip to Spain and I asked him to pick me up a copy of Vogue España on his way through the airport. He graciously did so and even though, me hablo no Espanol, Vogue is Vogue and the spreads are always stunning no matter what language or country they are shot in. I also feel that Spanish women are underestimated when it comes to European style and I’m often inspired by the way they dress.

Ironically though, it is American actress, Sharon Stone who is the cover star and I was blown away by the 16 page feature inside. It sees the 51 year old actress “Clad in black leather, studs and [thigh-high] boots… [she] plays a dramatic role for Vogue; [the] wildest of her life”. I pour over the pictures, some of which include her brother Mike and can’t believe not only how beautiful Sharon Stone looks but also the amazing styling throughout the shoot. I was just saying to a pal of mine last week that I was getting a little tired of the Rock Chic look but after seeing, this I’m taking that back immediately. From Balmain to American Apparel the pieces and styling in this shoot are all incredible.

I have an issue though, my conflict is the old photoshopping debate. Now, I am under no illusion that Sharon Stone doesn’t look absolutely fantastic for a woman of 20 years her junior let alone 51. Her picture from the red carpet at Cannes is proof alone that she looks fantastic. My question is, is it right to promote pictures that seem to be so obviously photoshopped? I have already said here that it’s the styling as well as the subject herself that has prompted me to blog about this shoot but would I have been so enamoured had the lens interpretation been more accurately represented in print? I doubt it. But so what? As far as I can tell the images have been photoshopped, for heaven’s sake her legs look like the plastic perfection of a shop mannequin, but Sharon Stone is not a mannequin, she’s not even a model.

The argument then should be why use an actress to feature in a fashion shoot, why not just do some au natural shots and leave the fashion shoots to the models?