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Model Couple

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Similar clothes, similar faces, and even matching smiles. It's not sci-fi, it's just marketing.

Don't they look lovely together? Well, of course, they look good together. That's the point.

In modeling, couples can be just any two models, but there seems to be a preference for how the appearance of the two complement each other. It's not always the case, but it shows up often enough.

If the couple is modeling clothes (usually for a Fashion Magazine or ad), as in the pic at right, expect the clothes to complement each other as well, often to the point of Coordinated Clothes. Just that the guy isn't dressing that way because it'll make his girl happy. He's just being paid.

This can easily apply to families as well, even if the kids are supposed to be adopted or the family is blended. Could also apply to groups of friends, or just a large group in particular.

Remember, this is mainly for modeling, more than fiction (unless it's fiction involving modelling). Chemistry between these people isn't important, since they don't have to act. That is, unless it's part of an ad, but don't look for anything deep. They're just there to sell the product.

Compare The Beautiful Elite, Those Two Actors, Modeling Poses. Contrast Ugly Guy, Hot Wife; Hot Guy, Ugly Wife.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime and Manga 
  • At one point in Paradise Kiss, Yukari goes to do a modelling shoot with a guy. Who turns out to be her boyfriend, George. This actually really annoys her.
  • Cardcaptor Sakura does this to show off Syaoran and Sakura's school uniforms, either in little shorts narrated by Kero at the end of some episodes, or in promotional artwork.

    Live-Action TV 
  • There's an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch with some sort of cute couple contest, where Libby dumps her current boyfriend and finds a new one because his hair colour complements hers better. "He was a blond. We clashed."
  • Played with in Mad Men, many of the couples that fit this type have their relationships go to seed (Don/Betty, Don/Megan, Roger/Joan, Roger/Jane, Roger/Mona, Joan/Greg, and Pete/Trudy). All shiny, glamorous, movie star perfect looks above a bed of lies, abuse, hatred, manipulation, possessiveness, and anger.

    Literature 
  • I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too: When Yuuya goes to a shopping mall, he's roped into becoming part of a fashion shoot taking place there since their usual male model is hungover and they need someone to play the part of their female model Miu's love interest. He agrees since he figures it's the least he can do, though he's rather nervous about having to be positioned so close to Miu.
  • This is somewhat justified. In The Third Chimpanzee, Jared Diamond details research on subconscious selection for appearance similarities in mates. He notes that the relative length of the fourth finger has higher correlation in married couples than whether they have the same religion.
  • It's lampshaded in Wraith Squadron, when Kell Tainer confesses love to Tyria Sarkin. She tells him he's Loving a Shadow, convincing himself that he loves her purely because they'd look good together, and because from an intellectual perspective they'd match too - she has no family, so he both doesn't have to deal with in-laws and can also provide her with his. He only loves the image of her. While Kell's shocked and hurt at first, he does realize that she's right.
  • Petals on the Wind: When Cathy is auditioning for Madame Marisha's dance school, her brother Chris accompanies her to the audition. Madame Marisha's first reaction is to remark how good they look together, and to try to recruit Chris as well.
    Madame Marisha: You too are a dancer?
    Chris: [embarrassed] No! I don't dance.
    Madame Marisha: Ah, the pity of that. What a glorious pair the two of you would make on stage. People would flock to stare at beauty such as you and your sister possess.

    Theater 
  • Lampshaded in Wicked, where Galinda and Fiyero sing "You're perfect! You're perfect! So we're perfect together!" Later subverted as Fiyero runs off with Elphaba.
  • "Omigod You Guys" in Legally Blonde starts out with Elle's friends gushing over how perfect Elle and Warner is as a couple, because they've both "got such great taste in clothes" so "of course he will propose". He didn't propose, they aren't perfect, and at the end Warner gets dumped by both Vivienne and Elle in quick succession. Elle ends up with Emmett instead.

     Video Games 

  • In Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side DS, Kei Hazuki has an event where the female model for a shoot didn't appear and the heroine gets roped into taking her place, leading to a cuddling shot of her and Kei. For the purpose of making the two look good together, the redhaired heroine wears a blonde wig.

    Western Animation 
  • In an episode of Daria, there is a Fashion Show for mothers and daughters. Tiffany, of the Fashion Club, hires a model to pretend to be her mother, just so they would look right. The "mother" is black, and the "daughter" is Asian, but what mattered is them looking good together.
  • Miraculous Ladybug: A dark example. Lila manages to worm her way into being a model for the Agreste Brand, with Gabriel Agreste even calling her his "muse." This primarily takes the form of being paired up with the company's main model, Gabriel's son Adrien, in a variety of romantic shots. The truth is that Lila extorted Adrien to go along with it by threatening Marinette, and Adrien thoroughly despises her by the time she gets the job. And while Lila doesn't appear to realize it at the time (though there are some hints that she may know by that point), the real reason Gabriel considers her his "muse" is because he is actually Hawk Moth, and she's been ever so helpful in upsetting people enough for his akumatizations.


 
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Yuuya and Miu

Due to the usual male model suffering from a hangover, Yuuya is brought in for the photoshoot with Miu.

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Main / ModelCouple

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