Gucci Gender Neutral Ad

InStyle Magazine UK, 2016

When analyzing this ad, I could perceive instantly the approach that Gucci has taken towards adopting a gender neutral style. This change has not been only noticeable in their ads, but also in their catwalks by bringing together women’s and men’s clothing in one show. Taking this step, Gucci ads subvert the traditional gender norms by eliminating the gap that fashion has created between women and men in their clothing. One example of going neutral is this ad, in which the three models are wearing the same clothing but with different colors. The clothing they are wearing is a suit with a tie, which once was a symbol of masculinity and male attire but in the 80’s became a symbol of female power. In this way, it seems like in the ad is trying to neutralize the appearance of male and female rather than going traditionally portraying a female using a dress and a male using a suit. Additionally, the fabric used for the suits is a floral one, which also subverts the “gender coding system” in which flowers are a symbol and representation of female and not for men. However, the colors chosen for the suits may not seem too neutral as it follows the gender coding system that “pink-is-for-girls and blue-is-for-boys maxim” (Kaiser 2012, 311), but the implementation of the flower details and a pink tie disrupts that premise. Finally, the models also conveys the idea of neutrality with their hairstyle, as it can be notice a women with a short hair and a male with a longer hair than the female.

 

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