The magazine published what it said would be its final naked pictorial last year.
Playboy magazine has announced it’s bringing back naked models, one year after declaring the era of nude pictorials had come to an end.
The magazine’s chief creative officer Cooper Hefner, has admitted the decision to stop using naked models was ‘a mistake’ and says the brand is now ‘taking our identity back’.
Our March/April 2017 cover #NakedIsNormal https://t.co/FhCkcmnV0S pic.twitter.com/WSxMElDa94
— Playboy (@Playboy) February 13, 2017
Playboy announced the return of naked models on Monday, revealing that Playmate Elizabeth Elam would be the magazine’s Miss March 2017, alongside the headline, “Naked is normal.”
In October Cooper Hefner, the son of founder Hugh Hefner, took over as the magazine's chief creative officer. The 26-year-old had reportedly been against the decision to stop publishing nudes in the magazine.
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“I’ll be the first to admit the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but removing it entirely was a mistake,” Hefner told The Telegraph. “Nudity was never the problem, because nudity isn’t a problem. Today, we’re taking our identity back and rediscovering who we are.
“This is a remarkably special moment personally and professionally that I get to share this issue of Playboy magazine with my Dad, as well as with readers. It is a reflection of how the brand can best connect with my generation and generations to come.”
Since its first issue in 1953, Playboy has featured many famous women baring all, alongside the regular Playmate of the month. For the January/February 2016 edition (which was said to be the last to contain nudity), Pamela Anderson posed for the magazine, marking her 14th appearance of the cover.