Month: February 2019

Gucci Subverts all Gender Norms in Pre-Fall ’18 Campaign

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Gucci’s Pre-Fall 2018 Campaign is far from the conventional fashion advertisement. While the discussion of gender pervades almost every advertisement, Gucci skillfully diffused the norms surrounding gender. Firstly, the ad campaign lacks color—thus eliminating the distinction between “girl/boy colors” (i.e. soft colors for girls and heavier colors for men). The focus is on the woman (bottom right) sitting on the table, facing a diverse group of people—many of whom take on an androgynous appearance, including the woman in focus. The woman wears a baggy t-shirt, along with wide legged jeans and heeled shoes over stockings (reminiscent of European 17th century aristocratic males’ dress)— a subtle, yet profound female empowerment move. Moreover, the woman sits with her legs situated in what resembles a “man spread”, and yelling into a microphone; this might have been a comment on the modesty a woman “should” typically present. This campaign was featured on WWD’s slideshow Best Fashion Ad Campaigns of Spring 2018: proof that hyper sexual imagery of stereotypical genders is not needed to make a lasting impression for sales. According to the campaign art director, Christopher Simmonds, the imagery was inspired by the 60s French New Wave film that connotes freedom, equality, and sexuality— so there is no doubt that an advertisement of this sort would subvert traditional gender norms. As Susan Kaiser states in her text Fashion and Cultural Studies, “The late 1960s…witnessed resistance against older stories of gender, ‘race,’…”^1 . The revival of this decades-old cultural movement points at the idea that our society continues to face such issues that the crowd is protesting in the advertisement. 

Footnotes

1. Susan B. Kaiser. Fashion and Cultural Studies (London: Berg, 2012). Pg 18

Subject Positioning and Intersectionality

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Link to Full PDF 

  1. Gender

I identify as mostly female, as almost everything is a point on a spectrum. Though I embrace the attributes that make me a female physically, my personality can sometimes be more masculine. Some traits of mine that can be deemed “unwomanly” are my interest in sports, a dominant personality, I have more male friends than female, and I sometimes dress gender neutral. This impacts my life in a variety of ways. Many times, I find myself somewhere in the middle where I cant fully relate to females nor males. Since gender and the norms surrounding gender are so deeply engrained in society, it affects every other subject position listed in the map from the way that I dress to the way that I interact with other people. Often, how much I identify myself as a  female or male depends on my mood, which in turn is affected by where I am (place), what aspect of my career I am focusing on that day, how mature I feel in relation to my age, whether I am more interested in a man or female (sexuality), and which of the two interests I delve deeper into. Many men do not like a dominant woman, so I struggle with having to reconsider who I should be dating or adapt myself to how a man would like a woman to be or look. For instance, I would dress “sexier” for a date with a male I know would like someone who is more feminine. That means, tight fitting clothing that reveals my curves, light scented perfume, makeup, and heels. Other times, I am more gender fluid in how I dress. I could wear converse, ripped baggy jeans, and a nirvana shirt on a day I skate to class. Sexuality: Bisexual, more heterosexual

Neyman, Leana. I am a Lady. April 2018. New York, NY.

  1. Sexuality

My sexuality is very much connected to my gender identification—that is the reason for why they are neighboring each other in the intersectionality map. As I identify myself more as female, it only “normal” to assume that I am more interested to the opposite sex (i.e. heterosexual). Nonetheless, I believe that love comes in all shapes and forms so I do not limit myself to liking only one sex. I am aware of this mostly when I find myself developing feelings for someone of  the same sex, since this is something that is considered out of “the norm” and “out of context”. However, living in New York I am able to express this more freely than I was back in my community in Brooklyn. My age also allows for curiosity and experimentation, as well as in my career where most people are liberal sexuality. My interest in spirituality and science also allows me to learn about love beyond labels (like spiritual connection, and homosexual love exhibited in other species). My sexuality affects how I dress similarly to the way my gender does. On a daily basis, however, I tend to show off my curves and female assets which may appeal more to heterosexuals but can still grab the attention of someone of the same sex. I’d say that my style is edgy, yet “sexy” as funny as that sounds!

Neyman, Leana. Prom. May 2017. Brooklyn, NY.

  1. Place

I was raised in Brooklyn, NY and recently moved to Manhattan upon entering Parsons. Though the majority of my life I have spent in South Brooklyn, I have never really fit in and spent most of my time escaping to Manhattan, where I felt I could truly be myself in a place with so much diversity. Therefore, I placed myself closer to the Manhattan side of the spectrum. As close as they may be, I become more aware of the differences and where I fit in more when I come to visit Brooklyn now that I live in the city. There are the typical Russian girls in my community who continue to wear their Ugg boots and Juicy Couture track suits. I then remember how I’d always be the “different” one who wore wide brim hats and sweater dresses. On the island, however, I seem to not only have my own style but also be up to date with the trends, finding many people who wear what I wear. Aside from clothing, I also fit in more with the liberal attitude of New York City, whereas homosexuality, gender fluidity, artistic careers, spirituality, and young age aren’t taken seriously— even looked down upon. Before visiting Brooklyn, I make sure to dress down and forget a great chunk of what makes up who I am as to not frighten anyone.  

Neyman, Leana. Paris School Trip.. March 2016. Paris, France. 

  1. Career

My career choice not only ties in with my interests and talents, but my gender, sexuality, and place positions were precursors for what I eventually would do with my life. Seeing as I am somewhere in between the masculine and the feminine aspects of each subject, it is no wonder that I would want to pursue a career in Fashion Design and Business. Like most of the other spectrums, I am found on the more feminine side, which is Fashion Design in this case—a quite  common assumption that fashion design is a woman’s profession. Albeit, my dominant personality requires a managerial, technical angle to be incorporated in my career. I am most of aware of this when working in group projects, where I almost naturally assume the role of a leader/organizer, while also offering creative input. When going for job interviews or dressing for a work environment, I tend to wear suits but add feminine features by the way I style them with jewelry, makeup, or my hairdo. Otherwise, my life as a fashion student allows me to explore my more alternative side!

Neyman, Leana. Darker Side. December 2018. New York, NY.

  1. Age

One’s age is pretty set in stone. As a 19 year old, I identify with Generation Z. Nonetheless, there is a difference between how old you are versus how old you feel. Growing up with an older sister, I have had much exposure to the previous generation’s style, fashion, and behavior. As a result I have assumed a much older persona. I am able to more deeply relate on an emotional level with people who are above the age of 24. Culturally, I relate to other 19 year old who are up to date with all the newest tech, fashion, innovations, etc. Living in New York, many people look towards the younger generations for the newest ideas and view on life. Also it is a place with a dense young population. Same goes for my career, where youth is admired but a professional attitude is still adhered to. My sexuality and gender fluidity is more accepted by people of my generation. However, my interests and philosophy are highly in tune with the older generation,  who is more adamant about connecting with others, taking their time to develop relationships, and focusing on mastery. People of my age are so engulfed in this idea of immediacy due to technology, that they find themselves jumping from person to person, and interest to interest so fast that they can hardly develop anything long-lasting or meaningful. Depending on who I surround myself with or my mood, I find myself either dressing older or younger (a-line dresses with tights versus crop tops with high waisted jeans).

 

Neyman, Leana. Chillax. May 2018. New York, NY.

  1. Interests

“Interests” is a vague word. To be more exact, it is how I like to develop my philosophy and perception of the world. My behavior is highly dictated by this balance I keep between spiritual and scientific ideas. Though they are contradictory in many ways, there are always intersections in seemingly opposite things given enough analysis and open mindedness. Due this necessity of having an open mind when merging spirituality and science, I have developed a greater security in my gender, sexuality, and age. At the same time, my interests have directed me to live in a place that is more open about spirituality than where I grew up, as well as aided me in developing my artistic vision in my fashion designs. Metaphysics is something that has long been part of philosophical thought, including the works of Aristotle. Susan Kaiser, author of Fashion and Cultural Studies, even draws much of her philosophies about fashion from the basics of metaphysical philosophy, which can be seen in her quotes like “Fashion materializes as bodies move through time and space”. While this is a philosophical phrase, it can also be perceived from a scientific standpoint: fashion as dress is a physical item that follows the laws of physics (space-time continuum) just as any other perceivable object. This is a huge influence in how I dress because it makes up a great portion of my value system in that everything in this world is a balance, down to the smallest molecule. In the grand scheme of the universe, who cares who or how you dress like: just be who you want to be in the present moment.

Neyman, Leana. Universal Energy. December 2017. Kanchanaburi, Thailand.