I noticed something this morning while flipping dutifully through the first 9,000 pages of this month’s Elle. Typically, I turn page after page, glancing at the advertisements for high-end luxury lines quickly, as I don’t care for much more than the photography – it’s unrealistic for me to dream up reasons to covet a $5,000 gown.
This time, however, in my morning stupor – peppermint mocha and cigarette in hand – I sat on my porch and let the wind whip the pages by as I sat quietly (see again: stupor) admiring the filters and post-production used on the adverts. A gust blew me to a two-page ad for Fendi, an Italian fashion house, displaying their 2010 ad featuring the stunning Anja Rubik.
Absolutely stunning, right? The colors are amazing, and the lines are beautiful… I stared at her strange pose and the intricate disheveling of her dress for a good 10 minutes before I decided to reach out and turn my own page, for a change. As I pulled the page by, I stopped to notice the production assistant in the lower left hand corner of the ad.
How could they let this run? He’s clearly manipulating the scenery…
Then I collected my thoughts (and confusion) and realized… Nope! That guy is definitely supposed to be there. What value is this adding, again?, I asked myself. Shaking it off, I turned the page to view yet another double truck for major fashion house, Bottega Venetta featuring Anya Kasakova:
…and Sean O’Pry. The photography is by one of my favorites, Nan Goldin, who is actually not well known for fashion photography, but more for fine art. I love the Vermeer-esque potency of the image, and definitely see the draw onto the many “Venus/Olympia” references of Titian and Manet, which are fantastic… While this would excite me on a typical day, the previous ad’s tree-arranging man was still in the forefront of my mind, and I couldn’t help but ask… What the hell is he doing there?
Kate Moss for Just Cavalli
Subsequent page turning revealed this theme in nearly half of the full page and double truck ads I encountered: emotionally affected woman with an aloof, cathartic male somewhere in the background. Don’t get me wrong – I fully understand the idea of “selling a story” or “emoting the garment”, or what have you. I get the strategic placement of bags in juxtaposition with the mood of the image… But I can’t help but realize that these images and ads are selling a lot more than just the garment – they’re selling a promise: You, too, can be coveted. A man (big strong man) may look longingly at you as you recline in our clothes. He will follow you wherever you go just to get a glimpse of you.
Are these ads constructing a standard? Has the fashion industry discovered that if women feel coveted by a man, they’re more likely to purchase clothing from a brand with that promise?
Again, don’t get me wrong, I am fully aware of the billions of ad campaigns featuring empowered, independent women… But, to me, that only punctuates those that involve a dude salivating over a woman wearing a particular brand of clothing. While not particularly enraging, it is certainly curious…
What are your thoughts on the appearance of swooning/coveting males in fashion ads?
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Interesting point! Particularly since everyone knows that in real life most guys don’t care one bit about high fashion, and if they knew how much Botega Veneta clothes cost, they would probably faint. But still this fantasy is being sold.
Interestingly, I would only interpret the Nan Golding photo differently from the other two. To me, the story the picture tells is that they’ve just had an argument, in a glamorous yet run down location, and they’re both sulking. There’s a lot of drama. They’re both there as equals, the man is there as himself rather than as a prop for the female model. The message would be that although they are fucked-up-but-extremely-cool. But maybe I’m just thinking that because you told me it was a Nan Golding photograph!
.-= Franca´s last blog ..Charity Shop finds (and a review of the Tollcross Salvation Army) =-.
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Posted by Franca | April 5, 2010, 9:44 amA Glossy View: Ad Campaign Curiousity | The Demoiselles: By: Lindsay Date: April 5, 2010 7:00 am. Categories: Loos… http://bit.ly/co8b6p
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Posted by Lindsay Fashion | April 5, 2010, 12:29 pmRT @MissElle: My new post at @TheDemoiselles: A Glossy View: Ad Campaign Curiousity http://shar.es/m2A4F
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Posted by Fashion Luvr | April 5, 2010, 2:40 pmI don’t know if the fashion industry is trying to make it seem like men will want us more if we wear these clothes, but I do know that the male model in the first and last pictures is Baptiste Giabiconi. He is Karl Lagerfeld’s newest male muse and he uses him in every ad campaign that he shoots now from Fendi, Chanel, and the new Coca-Cola Light ads. He did the same thing when Brad Kroenig was his male model muse.
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Posted by thefatandskinny | April 5, 2010, 4:46 pmRT @TheDemoiselles: RT @MissElle: My new post at @TheDemoiselles: A Glossy View: Ad Campaign Curiousity http://shar.es/m2A4F
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Posted by Jennifer Nicole | April 6, 2010, 1:18 amthey don’t really catch my attention really I’m too busy looking at what the girls wearing. But I guess they do make the photograph’s a little more dynamic.
.-= Empress´s last blog ..BCBG Max Azaria Spring 2010 =-.
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Posted by Empress | April 6, 2010, 9:00 amThey are portraying the message that if you buy the product you will have men swooning over you too, in the viewers subconscious. Its an advertising trick and strategy.
.-= Rachel Phipps´s last blog ..Ten Questions with Ruby True =-.
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Posted by Rachel Phipps | April 8, 2010, 4:49 pmBetter a swooning/coveting male than a haughty or leering one, which you used to see a lot more and unfortunately still do sometimes. Or the group of Euro-lads posed in mid-catcall. If I really believed a garment would make the right kind of guys swoon, I might be susceptible to this kind of sell.
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Posted by Nomi | April 14, 2010, 1:52 pmYeah Anja Rubik image is really awe-inspiring , and the posture is really superb .The color combination’ is really appreciable and its so impressive.The attire of Anya Kasakova is pretty good and the accessories are quite striking .
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Posted by Hannah Hamilton@Garment Bags | November 10, 2010, 12:50 amI don’t know much about fashion, But I enjoyed reading the article. I wonder of these ad strategies, what they actually intend to by projecting it the way it is..I appreciate your thoughts. Keep up the good work.
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Posted by Tom Holmes@Buy A Home Bar | November 12, 2010, 12:11 am