Fashion. More like consumed-by-fashion, there seems to be no escape from it. Even as a non-fashion major student, by being at Parsons, one of the most credible fashion institutions in the country, you come face-to-face to the most exotic, eccentric, and eclectic senses of style. People are dressed to impress, dressed to the nines; you won’t catch anyone in sweatpants unless it has been styled in a trendy way. Also, with the high percentage of international students, that means many of the students are repping the higher-end brands like Yves Saint Laurent, or Balenciaga, or Gucci. I unfortunately have not had the privilege to wear, let alone afford, those types of clothes. Instead, I live vicariously through other people or through the release of each ad campaign.
One of my favorite campaigns from last year was Gucci’s Fall campaign: #GucciPrêtÀPorter. Meaning ready-to-wear designer fashion, this campaign was made to reminisce the birth of prêt-à-porter and the heyday of fashion from it. There was a strong emphasis on highlighting the technical beauty and craftsmanship of these outfits, something that has been lost now in the rise of “clothing drop” culture. From this campaign came black and white mock-up magazine covers, one being the ad I chose to analyze. Looking at these covers, the outfits are beautiful, the models wearing these outfits are beautiful, the photography is beautiful. At first glance, I felt what Gucci wanted me to feel, amazed and reminded by the fashion from the 50s-80s. However, as I continue to look at the ad, I am reminded of something. I am reminded of the lack of representation of asians, especially male asians, in high-end designer brands.
Not in the mock-cover above, but all the cover from this campaign lacked a person of asian descent. Yes, we’ve come a far way for representation in ads like these, and you could argue that there is representation given there are people of color represented in the campaign. However, it still has a long way to go. To me, there seems to be a continuous trend where asians are often forgotten or not chosen to be the cover models for clothes compared to caucasians or african(-americans). That is not to say there have never been asians used as models, but in those instances, it is very situational. Asians are given the spotlight if it’s an asian-driven or inspired campaign, basically becoming a token asian. The reason why this drives me so mad is because this one ad reminds me that this doesn’t just happen in the fashion industry but also in the entertainment industry, music industry, etc.
As an asian myself, I constantly find myself trying to find or hoping that there will be an asian in a show or in a movie. Most of the time I fail to do so, and when there is an asian, it is usually not one with darker skin like me; in addition, usually these characters are ridden with stereotyping. With all that said, it would be unfair to discredit this Gucci ad because it is beautiful and successful in paying homage to prêt-à-porter fashion. It is an excellent curated ad that does well in advertising but also in creating a poetic narrative about reminiscence. But what this ad fails to do is make me, an asian person, feel connected to it; I feel like it wasn’t created for me and wasn’t meant to reach me.
