May seems to be the month of posing nude in American magazines: there’s Kim Kardashian and Joy Bryant in the buff in Harper’s Bazaar, while Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon is nude in her Interview magazine story.
Despite recent controversies surrounding photographer Terry Richardson, who faces as yet unproven allegations of inappropriate behaviour, it was he who shot Mellon wearing nothing but a pair of Jimmy Choos and a cat sitting between her legs.
Kardashian, meanwhile, is said to have received no retouching as she shows off her curves in Bazaar, wearing nothing but an anklet. The Bazaar shoot, which featured Joy Bryant after the main spread, was shot by Amanda de Cadanet.
In comparison to Kardashian, Bryant, who has a more extensive modelling, television and film résumé, has been receiving relatively little coverage for her nude image in Harper’s Bazaar.
The Bazaar shoot is said to celebrate the female form, an approach which had sparked off a round of media coverage when Jennifer Hawkins posed nude for an Australian Marie Claire in January. Interestingly for a fashion magazine, there is next to no fashion in the spreads.