Natasha Poly | Inez and Vinoodh | Vogue Spain November 2011 NSFW

Note | Nudity Reviewing Natasha Poly's naked photoshoot by Inez and Vinoodh for Vogue Spain's November 2011 issue, a writer suggested this morning that nudity in fashion has moved from raw sexuality to soft sensuality and now back to the naked body as art.

The subject of the naked female body is near and dear to my heart. These statements are not a correct analysis of the New Eroticism trend but a trend du moment soundbite. Committed to being the leading authority on this subject (as opposed to pure fashion trends, which I care less about), I feel a need to clarify what is happening.

True, nudity has swung away from raw sexuality Terry Richardson style -- the male (often perverted) tits and ass viewpoint of women. Wrong that nudity has been abandoned recently for soft sensuality, although said writer seems to think so, and I've disagreed with that pov before. The fact that Emmanuelle Alt finds nudity distateful for French Vogue (it seems she is relenting and probably under pressure) doesn't describe the larger fashion and cultural trend.

New Eroticism hasn't let up and is in fact, expanding as legions of women respond positively to this imagery and confrontation. 

Fashionistas tend to put complex subjects like female nudity in a tight box with narrow interpretations. Reality is that fashion continues to experiment with a wide range of nudity, much of it quite intellectual -- a second reality dismissed by the same writer. We have moved beyond the simple interpretation of "sex sells" into a subject much more complex, because large numbers of thinking artists and professionals are exploring culture's relationship with the female body -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. See my recent Honestly Calling the New Trends in Women, Fashion & Religion.  Anne

via vo