Belgian magazine Ché says farewell to sexy image

Belgian men's magazine Ché has decided to removed female nudity from its pages. The decision marks the beginning of a drastic image change for the magazine, famous for its bikini-clad cover models. Ché put its sexy past behind it with one final cover photo of a pin-up on fire and the words, “Bye bye babe”. "We want to get rid of the term 'men's magazine'," editor in chief Jonas Heyerick told Knack.

Ché has undergone a major transformation since its acquisition by publisher Cascade, starting with shaking off its macho image. “Like Playboy, we're also saying goodbye to the 'babe', but with the difference that Playboy remains a men's magazine and Ché does not,” Heyerick explained.

“As a journalist at P-magazine, I have witnessed the drastic evolution of the magazine market, and we cannot deny that men's magazines are not doing well. Besides, the term 'men's magazine' was created by marketers to lure advertisers, but because the advertising market has completely collapsed in recent years, that term makes no sense anymore. That's why we're going for a new formula: a magazine for both men and women, with strong reports and interviews.”