Fashion The fashion industries influential abilities often impact societies perception of beauty standards and norms. The industry holds potent power over women’s gender presentation and hierarchal binaries of status. From young girls, to adults, women around the world look to the fashion industry for advice, direction and guidelines regarding appearance. The industries impact on body image and beauty perception has been predominantly negative through its use of unrealistically thin models and technologies ability to eradicate imperfections. Because fashion is a social construction that will continue to be idolized and recreated, it is important to pay close attention to its effects. - Hana Salameh
Sex and Fashion Calvin Klein The fashion industry continuously employs sex as a means of endorsing and advocating for fashion. The idea that sex sells, seems to habitually be permissible in the fashion world. The fashion industries promotion of the sexualization of girls, encourages women to utilize fashion as a means to attract men; compromising themselves, and their self esteem. Calvin Klein, one of the industries first and leading designers built its empire around sexuality. Their highlighted product, jeans, are portrayed as sexy and skin tight. Calvin Klein's 1981 ad campaign presented 15 year old Brooke Shields flirtatiously saying, "Want to know what gets between me and my Calvins? Nothing." Today, Calvin Klein still endorses its company based off of desire and sexuality. Their most recent 2012 ad campaign presents multiple fit men and thin women dressed only in tight colorful jeans. The men and women pose in provocative poses on top of each other through out the commercial. Fashions presented like this, make girls feel the need to look, dress, and act like the models in the film. Fashions like these endorse unrealistic beauty standards and promiscuity. - Hana Salameh
Victorias Secret In 2010 Victorias Secret, a lingerie company who has lines targeting young teens and adults, promoted a new type of fashion in the lingerie world, one that fell under the category of, "One gift, a thousand fantasies." Their Christmas line advocated the gift of sex, while adorned in their fashion. With young girls idolizing the Victorias Secret Angels, and boys of all angels fantasizing about them, Victorias Secret began constructing societal beauty and sexual norms. This ad specifically, demonstrates the need for girls to have long luscious locks, faces enhanced with makeup, tiny waists, and of course, items from the Victorias Secret collection, to not only feel beautiful, but to make their boyfriends, husbands, and themselves happy. If their influence on girls and women was not enough, boys and men now expect girls and women to emulate and be like the Angels; both physically and sexually. The fashion influence is obvious, as Victorias Secret is more popular and promoted than ever before; as is the effects of a sexualized fashion trend targeting not just adults, but girls just hitting puberty. - Hana Salameh
Runway Fashions
Louis Vuitton: Paris Runway 2012
Each season fashion designers put together runway collections to introduce their designs to the world. Top designers, magazine editors, critics, and many more elites attend. The runway showcases extravagant designs that most would never wear on a typical day. They display intricate construction, unique design, and are showcased on top models; models whom meet societies beauty constructions. By hanging their clothes on such women as they walk down the runway clothed in the latest fashions with spectators galore, designers send a strong message to those outside of the fashion world; women were made to conform, made to be looked at, and made to be critiqued. Besides shedding light on luxurious materials, and nice hem lines, the runway also establishes an "ideal" person to wear them, one who is not the typical girl. The runway is an idolized strip upon which girls and women look to for beauty inspiration. The runway is a basis for the confinement women face in regards to beauty. - Hana Salameh
Narciso Rodriguez Spring 2012 Narciso Rodriquez's spring 2012 collection exemplifiesrunway etiquette and demeanor, as his style portrays feminine fabrics, hard angles, and of course tall thin models. An average dress by Rodriguez runs about $2000, while a flattering sweater will cost upwards of $700. Rodriguez said, "I want to celebrate the woman's beauty," and while he does this with his clothing, the concept of runway fashions which he displays his fashions upon, and basis his designs for, also solidifies the platform upon which societal beauty constructions develop. By utilizing the runway, auditioning and hiring specific models, and exploiting these models to critics and the media, these models along with fashions they are wearing begin to set an example for women around the world, reading Harpers Bazzare and Elle, that this is beauty. - Hana Salameh
Narciso Rodriguez: Spring 2012 Runway Transforming Fashion: Advocacy for LGBTQ
For quite sometime fashion designers have used heteronormative endorsements or promoted heteronormativity displaying their fashions on female models attracted to males or vice versa; female models wearing dresses and male models wearing pants. Contemporary society however yearns for something more, a fashion industry catered to the intersectionality of every individual staring at a new line of clothing. - Hana Salameh
American Apparel Designers like American Apparel, a store aimed at teens and young adults have always been in tune with gender and sexuality, but have most recently decided to "celebrate sexuality" and gender, and focused more on building a LGBTQ and heterosexual world of fashion just for those which do not fit the mold. With racy but simple and classic pieces, which are seen on those both male and female, heterosexual, gay, and bisexual the designers and company cater and support a new generation; one which destroys hetero hegemony and overcomes LGBTQ oppression. - Hana Salameh
Marc Jacobs Celebrated fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who has risen to popularity through out the years, and is more admired than ever recently developed a powerful new fashion statement for little ones; one which directly advocates for the LGBTQ community. The line for children constructs a much different perspective than any other childrens line. Marc Jacobs line screams, "If dad says no, ASK DAD!" and, "If mom says no, ASK MOM!" The printed t-shirts are adorable, and perfect for new generations filled with understanding of all genders, sexualities, and the cocktails we are comprised from that make us who we are.- Hana Salameh
Body Image and Fashion
The fashion industry is one of the main perpetrators of endorsing unrealistic beauty ideals. These unrealistic beauty ideals consist of the extremely tall and thin woman. These beauty ideals are evident in the type of models they use for print advertisements and even more so on the runway. Within the fashion industry one's appearance is of utmost importance. This leads to a great amount of stress and many of these models resort to dangerous solutions to keep their weights down. These "solutions" can take the form of extreme dieting and exercise and occasionally it can lead to anorexia nervosa. As a result many of today's young women and girls are starving themselves in hopes of attaining the body put forth by the fashion industry.
From left to right: Model for Jason Wu runway, Twiggy model during the 60's known for her 'twig-like' body, and Isabelle Caro French model who died as a result of anorexia nervosa.
In recent times, the fashion industry has made an effort to change the extremely thin model. Many European countries have joined together to prohibit extremely thin models from walking the runway. This implies that in order for a model to walk a runway she must have a healthy weight for her height. Additionally, the editors at Vogue have agreed to stop using underage and extremely thin models in their magazines. - Gloria Ruiz
The fashion industries influential abilities often impact societies perception of beauty standards and norms. The industry holds potent power over women’s gender presentation and hierarchal binaries of status. From young girls, to adults, women around the world look to the fashion industry for advice, direction and guidelines regarding appearance. The industries impact on body image and beauty perception has been predominantly negative through its use of unrealistically thin models and technologies ability to eradicate imperfections. Because fashion is a social construction that will continue to be idolized and recreated, it is important to pay close attention to its effects. - Hana Salameh
Sex and Fashion
Calvin Klein
The fashion industry continuously employs sex as a means of endorsing and advocating for fashion. The idea that sex sells, seems to habitually be permissible in the fashion world. The fashion industries promotion of the sexualization of girls, encourages women to utilize fashion as a means to attract men; compromising themselves, and their self esteem. Calvin Klein, one of the industries first and leading designers built its empire around sexuality. Their highlighted product, jeans, are portrayed as sexy and skin tight. Calvin Klein's 1981 ad campaign presented 15 year old Brooke Shields flirtatiously saying, "Want to know what gets between me and my Calvins? Nothing." Today, Calvin Klein still endorses its company based off of desire and sexuality. Their most recent 2012 ad campaign presents multiple fit men and thin women dressed only in tight colorful jeans. The men and women pose in provocative poses on top of each other through out the commercial. Fashions presented like this, make girls feel the need to look, dress, and act like the models in the film. Fashions like these endorse unrealistic beauty standards and promiscuity. - Hana Salameh
Victorias Secret
In 2010 Victorias Secret, a lingerie company who has lines targeting young teens and adults, promoted a new type of fashion in the lingerie world, one that fell under the category of, "One gift, a thousand fantasies." Their Christmas line advocated the gift of sex, while adorned in their fashion. With young girls idolizing the Victorias Secret Angels, and boys of all angels fantasizing about them, Victorias Secret began constructing societal beauty and sexual norms. This ad specifically, demonstrates the need for girls to have long luscious locks, faces enhanced with makeup, tiny waists, and of course, items from the Victorias Secret collection, to not only feel beautiful, but to make their boyfriends, husbands, and themselves happy. If their influence on girls and women was not enough, boys and men now expect girls and women to emulate and be like the Angels; both physically and sexually. The fashion influence is obvious, as Victorias Secret is more popular and promoted than ever before; as is the effects of a sexualized fashion trend targeting not just adults, but girls just hitting puberty. - Hana Salameh
Runway Fashions
Narciso Rodriguez Spring 2012
Narciso Rodriquez's spring 2012 collection exemplifiesrunway etiquette and demeanor, as his style portrays feminine fabrics, hard angles, and of course tall thin models. An average dress by Rodriguez runs about $2000, while a flattering sweater will cost upwards of $700. Rodriguez said, "I want to celebrate the woman's beauty," and while he does this with his clothing, the concept of runway fashions which he displays his fashions upon, and basis his designs for, also solidifies the platform upon which societal beauty constructions develop. By utilizing the runway, auditioning and hiring specific models, and exploiting these models to critics and the media, these models along with fashions they are wearing begin to set an example for women around the world, reading Harpers Bazzare and Elle, that this is beauty. - Hana Salameh
Narciso Rodriguez: Spring 2012 Runway
Transforming Fashion: Advocacy for LGBTQ
For quite sometime fashion designers have used heteronormative endorsements or promoted heteronormativity displaying their fashions on female models attracted to males or vice versa; female models wearing dresses and male models wearing pants. Contemporary society however yearns for something more, a fashion industry catered to the intersectionality of every individual staring at a new line of clothing. - Hana Salameh
American Apparel
Designers like American Apparel, a store aimed at teens and young adults have always been in tune with gender and sexuality, but have most recently decided to "celebrate sexuality" and gender, and focused more on building a LGBTQ and heterosexual world of fashion just for those which do not fit the mold. With racy but simple and classic pieces, which are seen on those both male and female, heterosexual, gay, and bisexual the designers and company cater and support a new generation; one which destroys hetero hegemony and overcomes LGBTQ oppression. - Hana Salameh
Marc Jacobs
Celebrated fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who has risen to popularity through out the years, and is more admired than ever recently developed a powerful new fashion statement for little ones; one which directly advocates for the LGBTQ community. The line for children constructs a much different perspective than any other childrens line. Marc Jacobs line screams, "If dad says no, ASK DAD!" and, "If mom says no, ASK MOM!" The printed t-shirts are adorable, and perfect for new generations filled with understanding of all genders, sexualities, and the cocktails we are comprised from that make us who we are. - Hana Salameh
Body Image and Fashion
The fashion industry is one of the main perpetrators of endorsing unrealistic beauty ideals. These unrealistic beauty ideals consist of the extremely tall and thin woman. These beauty ideals are evident in the type of models they use for print advertisements and even more so on the runway. Within the fashion industry one's appearance is of utmost importance. This leads to a great amount of stress and many of these models resort to dangerous solutions to keep their weights down. These "solutions" can take the form of extreme dieting and exercise and occasionally it can lead to anorexia nervosa. As a result many of today's young women and girls are starving themselves in hopes of attaining the body put forth by the fashion industry.
From left to right: Model for Jason Wu runway, Twiggy model during the 60's known for her 'twig-like' body, and Isabelle Caro French model who died as a result of anorexia nervosa.
In recent times, the fashion industry has made an effort to change the extremely thin model. Many European countries have joined together to prohibit extremely thin models from walking the runway. This implies that in order for a model to walk a runway she must have a healthy weight for her height. Additionally, the editors at Vogue have agreed to stop using underage and extremely thin models in their magazines. - Gloria Ruiz