Alexander Wang, the former creative director at Balenciaga, launched his first H&M SS15 denim line called Denim x Alexander Wang. Following the trend of Calvin Klein’s controversial Calvin Klein Brooke Shields campaign, Alexander Wang’s new denim line advertisement triggered the public as this advertisement used nudity more specifically a woman’s body to provoke the necessity of denim jeans. In the advertisement by Steven Klein, the model, Anna Ewers, is laid back naked with jeans dropped on her shins. While one ad features a full-body shot of her naked through the lens of a third person, the other ad features an up-close image of the woman touching herself through the lens of her. The model places her hand on top of her private part while the jeans are unbuttoned. Alexander Wang uses the woman’s body as a marketing tactic to attract more people. Regardless of how sensational this advertisement may be, it still raises the question of whether or not it is right to stage a naked woman fully naked solely for the purpose of pursuing that ideal that “pushing the boundaries of good taste is certainly a good business strategy.” (Klein) Overall, the campaign accomplishes the explicit sensuality and seductiveness. However, the way that these two advertisements are presented devalues women’s power, reinforcing the stereotypical gender norm. Especially in today’s society where gender equality is still such a controversial topic and recalling the past where men oftentimes devalued women and perceived them more as their asset, we are then again raised with the question of whether or not the stereotypical perception of women will ever be nonexistent. The tagline for this advertisement, “Once you see, you can not stop thinking about it”, is referring back to the denim, but you can also interpret this as the woman being the focus. Also, the word “it” at the end of the tagline also refers to the women being associated as commodities. As this advertisement attracts the eye more to the expose of the woman’s body and the gesture of her effortlessly resting on the chair, the word “it” becomes the model. This female model overshadows the necessity of denim jeans as the significance of the woman.
In order to demolish the notion of women in an inferior method, specifically in a sexual standard, society needs to change women’s performance and thoughts. In the book Fashion and Cultural Studies by Susan B. Kaiser, the author states, “Gender is actually not just who we are; it is what we do or perform as we participate in an embodied way with cultural discourse. Feminist critical theorist Judith Butler (1990) refers to this gendered interplay between cultural discourse and everyday habitus as performativity.” (Kaiser 2012, 123) Our performance of how we style-fashion-dress affects greatly from our culture and tradition. Our thoughts are limited and enclosed, which is the reason why people have difficulties accepting new viewpoints, concepts, and ideas. By showing this advertisement to the people, this could create a notion that high-end brands believe one of their merchandising methods is by selling women’s bodies.
For this advertisement, it is difficult for the audience to understand what the producer is trying to convey and what the true intent is behind this whole framing and staging of these shots. After observing the campaign, the consumers could wonder why the jeans want the consumers to take off their clothes off and touch their bodies. It is confusing how the campaign creates a relationship between nudity and jeans. Although Alexander Wang’s intention of creating controversy was successful, the use of a woman’s naked body and appealing the necessity of denim jeans through this sexual staging definitely makes this even more controversial as people still fight for gender equality. Regardless of denying the accusations of women being devalued, we are still quite unsure because being naked is being in one’s vulnerable form, and this definitely shows us that women are constantly being susceptible to harm.
Bibliography
Kaiser, Susan B. Fashion and Cultural Studies. London: Berg Publisher, 2012.
Klein, Steven. Alexander Wang x Denim Ad Campaign, 2014, Digital Photography. Accessed February 15, 2020.
Reed, Sam. “Alexander Wang’s New Denim Ads Suggest Going Pantless.” Accessed February 15, 2020. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alexander-wangs-new-denim-ads-753964
