Line Them Up.

I did a scan of Dazed Digital this morning and found a feature on the thesis project turned actual modeling agency, Nine Daughters and A Stereo. The Cologne, Germany based agency has set themselves apart from the competition by creating a unique web presence. Their site's splash page is a large, looping film of their models looking lithe, and plainly, strangely pretty.



Skip past the film and the site morphs into an inventory of all their "boys" and "girls" lined up in a pale grid of skin, or white tanks depending on gender.

There is something so unsettling about this site to me. Largely my inner monologue is stuck on how strange it makes me feel. Yes, the specimens assembled in this virtual cabinet of human curiosities read as ethereal and striking, but they also give me the deep creeps. I feel like I'm trolling some underbelly site not suitable for work, or directly via the feed of some other planet that has captured humans and is selling them for a price. It's the music, it's the homogeneous skin coloring, the slight builds that look a little malnourished. Is this what we find beautiful now? Compare it to what was on offer as model material a few decades ago, and maybe you can help me connect the dots as to how we've gotten here (pale, soft, sad-eyed).

Beefcake vs. angel food. What's your pick?