A critical analysis of H&M's 'She's a Lady Campaign'

Fashion In Context: Assignment 2

H&M “SHE’S A LADY” CAMPAIGN AUTUMN 2016 Group C: Emily Rathbone Maisie Abell Eleanor Morris Kathryn Egan James Brindley Zheng Wenqian

Word Count: 2991 words 1

Table of Contents Introduction The advert ………………………………………………….….3 How are the women portrayed …………………….….3 What is the importance of the settings that the women were in?…………………….………………….4 What is the contemporary canon of beauty?...…….5 What is the meaning of the advert and how does it relate to wider society ….………………….………………….7 Article Research ….………………….……….…………………8 Personal Criticism .………………….……….………………..9 Does the advert propose a more realistic version of what it means to be beautiful? ….……….……………….10 Is the advert fully inclusive? ....….……….……………….12 Conclusion ...….……….………………………………………....13

INTRODUCTION The Advert The campaign is an attempt at confronting modern ideals of femininity and conceptions of beauty, through portraying women of varying ages, ethnicities, characteristics, etc. that are not widely represented in women’s apparel marketing, carrying out actions that are not considered ‘ladylike’ or genteel. The campaign is set across many spaces and environments, showing the women’s behaviour in both personal and public settings, whilst effectively enabling the brand to showcase a large product variety from their Autumn line.

The nature of the video campaign suggests that the target market is for women fit into their marketing segmentation category for ‘Ladies’ (including H&M+), however, one may suggest this is slightly ambiguous as certain customers who may fit into this category, such as expecting mothers, were excluded. It may be suggested that H&M chose to solely target women in this advert, as female consumers are often recognised as the primary purchasers of apparel (Han,S.2019.

Fashion consumers and Generational Cohorts.14th February 2019,University of Leeds).

How are the women portrayed?

The women in the campaign are portrayed in their rawest form; embracing their natural selves, exuding power and self-confidence.

A message of individuality is demonstrated through the diverse characteristics of the women, from hairstyle and colour, ethnicity, age and body shape.

H&M used both famed and lesser known figures, primarily from Western society, to increase the diversity and representation.

The advert features a successful Asian businesswoman, a transgender model, a septuagenarian, a natural haired singer, a Ghanaian-British model, a female boxer, plus-size model, body positivity activist of Indian descent,and Swedish model famed for unapologetically being herself.

Another key element in the campaign is the representation of lesbianism in their mainstream advertisement, with the video closing on a scene of two women embracing, promoting further variety in the campaign and eluding to the H&M’s strive for inclusivity and representation.

Despite the fact that the environments and positions the women are portrayed in lack representation in mainstream media, each women is portrayed to act and appear comfortable and 3 self-assured.

What is the importance of the settings that the women were in?

Fig. 1: H&M Fall 2016 Commercial, 2016

Fig. 2: H&M’s Fall Campaign: She’s a Lady, 2016

The spaces which the women feature in contribute to message that H&M is trying to make. The women are shown in both private and public settings doing everyday activities, atypical of how women are normally presented in advertisements.

The advert opens with a scene of a plus-size model in her bathroom, and is of importance as its shows the model in her most raw and exposed form, yet still appreciating her body.

Another ‘private’ setting is that of a hotel room.

This scene is important as the model is shown unzipping her trousers and eating chips, arguably crude behaviour for a women.

Alongside these private situations, the campaign also shows women in a unconventional public situations, such as in a position of power in an office environment, letting loose in a bar, and acting rambunctious in a busy restaurant.

4 Fig. 3: H&M, 2016

WHAT IS THE CONTEMPORARY CANON OF BEAUTY? ‘Beauty’ can have a variety of meanings and people often have different perspectives in terms of what the word represents. According to the Oxford dictionary, the word beauty means “A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases aesthetic senses, especially the sight.”, in vague terms the definition implies ‘something pleasing to the eye’. Historically women were perceived as beautiful if they had an hourglass figure with a small waist, a perfect face of makeup, slick hair and conformed to the stereotypical roles of being a housewife (Bakutyte, 2014).

Ultimately, they were to look this way to please men and conform to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory. However, although it is difficult for some people to overcome what used to be defined as beautiful, social ideas of beauty has now changes. The 21st century is considered to be a time of preference where women can be who they want to be a look how they choose without having to look a certain way for others. Beauty is now more about individuality and about having a beautiful personality showing a more realistic version of the word.

In this case it could show that models don’t have to be ‘skinny’ in order to be popular on social media. Although it can be argued as to if this is the new normal on Instagram. The media has a great impact upon the fashion industry, specifically in relation to the self-schema theory where people receive information and process this in a sensitive way.

Thus, what people see in the media can impact their mental health in terms of how they perceive themselves. The fashion industry often edits models and campaigns using photoshop so this actually represents a fake and unrealistic contemporary version of physical beauty and this can impact upon the self-schema (Dallabona, 2019).

Instagram has been having a key impact on body image and self-esteem. Now there are lots of ‘plus sized models’ that have millions of followers in Instagram including models such as Ashley Graham and Iskra Lawrence who each have over four million followers.

5 Fig. 4: Little Things, N/D

The advert shows beauty in a raw form, the women aren’t the stereotypical women that you see in other advertisements showing ordinary models. It has a selection of different women who have unique features to your everyday model such as ginger hair, a range of ethnicities and embracing body hair that are now considered beautiful in this new age where these characteristics are accepted and are becoming more common. Although, since the advert was released H&M has been under criticism in terms of its plus size range, a few months after the ad was released H&M removed its plus size range from its eleven stores in New York.

This can be seen as contradictory as the advert tries to support plus sized women, however the average size of an American women is size 16 to 18 yet H&M have removed the clothing specifically targeted at them (Edwards, 2016). These kinds of adverts that show this new image of beauty is becoming more evident in the industry, for example, in May 2018 Vogue released a cover featuring nine models who are from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities and shapes and sizes (Enninful, 2018). This shows that it is becoming more than just a marketing stunt but is becoming reality in the industry.

Fig. 5: Evening Standard, 2016

Fig. 6: Ad Stasher, 2016

6 Fig. 7: Soul Bounce, 2016

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE ADVERT AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO WIDER SOCIETY? The advert allows viewers to question what being a ‘lady’ is in regards to the traditional standpoint.

On a basic level the advert is saying that being ladylike is being whatever you want to be. The advert is also attempting to convey a sense of unity and equality between all females regardless of all the factors that make us different. The advert denotes that every women is of equal worth regardless of varying factors that dictate the usual industry standard of beauty. On a deeper level it highlights the idea of celebrating these factors and differences even if they are unconventional in regards to beauty standards. With the vast amount of diversity in the advert being demonstrated through variation in body shape, hair type, femininity, power relations, skin colour and sexuality, this really is a diverse advert and aligns with the current agenda of many liberal minded brands and people of which H&M is clearly attempting to align themselves with.

This advert is allowing H&M to get a strong message across to their consumers and potential consumers, that being one of unity and diversity amongst women. This arguably gives H&M the legitimacy to position themselves as an advocate of this powerful message which would suggest that they follow the same positive and important values as their customers, as highlighted in the advertisement.

The music used as the backing track to the advert, ‘She’s a Lady’, is arguably used satirically and ironically as a statement against the stereotypes of what it means to be a ‘lady’ as originally this track was used to suggest these very stereotypes. The reason it can be deemed as ironic in relation to this advert can also be signalled by the singer who is a women, opposed to the original singer of the famous song, Tom Jones, implying women are reclaiming the notion of being a lady on their own terms.

The women in the advert don’t conform to the traditional idea of being a lady in terms of appearance, role in society or attitude so this advert has an air of rebellion which appears refreshing but necessary in order to defy stereotypes and allow these differences to become the norm.

Fig. 8: Fatima Pinto, 2016

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HOW WAS THE ADVERT RECEIVED? Article Research The general response to the H&M advert ‘She’s a Lady’ is positive, as it is showing a diverse range of women, of different races, sizes, transgender women, lesbian women, and an older woman.

The guardian (2016) commends this advert for challenging notions of femininity, and for showing normal women doing normal things, “the sort of people you see on the train on your way to work, the sort of people you are friends with – and the sort of people who shop at H&M” (The Guardian, 2016). This highlights how each of the women shown in the advert are more normal than the women you would normally see in fashion advertising, like all of them being tall, thin and white models.

Fig. 9: Adweek. 2016.

Adweek (2016) says that “showing women as they are shouldn’t be a feminist notion”, but at the moment whilst we are still pushing for complete equality, H&M producing this advert of diverse women, ironically paired with a misogynist song, is a notable step forward especially as they show women having fun.

Fig. 10a: The Guardian. 2016.

Another thing they have been praised for is the fact that the adverts settings are not just against a screen in a studio or on a runway, instead the women are out and about, like the woman at work directing a boardroom, or the woman relaxing on her bed eating fries with her trousers unbuttoned. By showing them in more everyday scenarios, women who are the actual customers of H&M can relate to them on a better level. But as well as this, the women are shown in a more empowering and strong role, such as the woman directing a boardroom, or the woman who appears to be a bodybuilder, as opposed to women just in a studio modelling the clothes in a conventional way with conventionally ‘beautiful’ models.

Fig. 10b: The Guardian. 2016.

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Personal Criticism The advert is a step in the right direction for women’s diversity in the fashion industry, however it could be inferred that, although this advert shows a range of women and doing ‘normal’ things, the advert remains a glamorized representation of everyday life, and hence is not an accurate portrayal of normal life for women. The ‘This Girl Can’ advert is arguably a more realistic depiction of real women in day to day life.

Fig. 11: HelloGiggles. 2016.

Fig. 12: Sport England. No date

Fig. 13: Drapers. 2017.

Also, you could argue that H&M didn’t include as many different women as they could have done, for example, disabled women, mothers, and women with scars or disfigurements.

As well as this, H&M have been recognised for this advert, in promoting diversity and ‘real’ women, rightly so, however, by just doing this as a one-time thing to show that they are a diverse brand, isn’t enough. If they haven’t actually continued with their strive for diversity in the fashion industry, by using a range of diverse models, or including the plus size range mixed in with their main collection on their website, the advert has less meaning.

Fig. 14: H&M. 2018.

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DOES THE ADVERT PROPOSE A MORE INCLUSIVE AND REALISTIC VERSION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BEAUTIFUL?

It is through mainstream media that the biggest changes in the concept of ‘beauty’ and ‘individuality’ are happening.

This advert is just one example. Although only roughly 2 years old, H&M’s Autumn 2016 collection trailer could be considered forward thinking in comparison to other forms of media from around the same time which address the issues that come with pressures of beauty and stereotypes.

Fig. 15: BrandChannel, 2016

The basis of the advert, shown through the very wide and diverse range of actresses, is that the message which it aims to convey applies to anyone. The advert aims to make most specifically women (the target audience), but also any viewer feel as though you do not need to be the conventional image of beauty but just yourself, to be beautiful.

It is modern society, who through media such as this (although not only this) has become more accepting of individuality.

Through looking at past advertisements such as this one we can clearly see that through time, society has become more open and accepting of individuals who may feel or would have previously been 10 considered ‘different’.

Although the advert and its message may not resonate with every viewer who comes across it, it does a good job of being representative of the modern public. One way in which the advert achieves this is by using not only a wide range of different women but also by placing them in a variety of different scenes and settings.

Fig. 16: Packshotmag, 2016

As discussed previously, modern society is changing to become more accepting of the ‘issues’ addressed in the advert. H&M has done a great job to reflect the wide variety of individuals and lifestyles which we would most likely see if one was to spend time in public or on social media platforms such as Instagram.

The advert however, does this in what could be considered a ‘glamorised’ light as although it aims to represent and include everyone, it may not completely represent the ‘bad times’ as well as the ‘good times’. For example, it shows the women enjoying themselves and having a good time, not caring that they may/may not be conventionally beautiful, and does not necessarily show any of the feelings of pressure or anxiety that can accompany the topics H&M aim to address.

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IS THE ADVERT FULLY INCLUSIVE? The advert contains a range of nationalities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, hair styles and professions, amongst a variety of other physical and personality differences.

Attempting to introduce greater representation, the women act nonchalant in their actions that would previously be considered ‘unlady-like’ or that were not represented in mainstream media, for example, in the advert, a model displays her underarm hair, suggesting women are increasingly embracing their natural state and proposing new standards of beauty. Although, the advert isn't just about looks. The model at the table is shown using a fork to get food out of her teeth, this being a juxtaposition of the stereotype being ‘ladylike’ at the table as women have been groomed from centuries to conform to table etiquette. Another example could include the model who is seen in an executive role in her job, contrasting how women used to be housewives and the stereotypes that men have better jobs.

Thus concluding how the advert isn't just fully inclusive in the way that women look, yet also in their behaviour, careers, sexulaity and their lifestyle.

In spite of its initial impression of inclusivity, certain issues have been excluded, such as body disfigurements, motherhood, acne-prone skin, and a plethora of disabilities. Furthermore, there is a lack of conventional scenarios and careers shown, and the majority of the women are of a younger generation. Whilst Lauren Hutton was intended to represent the older customer base, she is in fact famed for her youthful looks for her age, and hence one may suggest she is not an appropriate figure to represent this generation.

The possible reasons as to why they haven’t been fully inclusive could be because the advert is only one minute and they would’ve wanted it to be short and effective, so they wouldn’t have had time to include everyone, but the advert is still powerful in delivering an approach to diversity and they don’t necessarily need to include every single type of woman.

Fig. 17: H&M ad: She’s lady. 2016

Fig. 18: Vogue’s picture on Instagram. 2019

Moreover, the risk of an adverse reaction from customers may have affected casting decision for the advert. In recent weeks, Vogue magazine posted a picture of a Chinese model with a “singular appeal” (Vogue, 2019) (see Figure 18), intending to express the notion that “everyone can have their own unique beauty” (Vogue, 2019).

Unexpectedly, the post triggered considerable a negative reaction from Vogue’s followers about the representation of Chinese people in Western media, arguing that portraying unconventional women from cultures deforms society’s view of the entire culture. However, one may argue this reaction is inevitable, and through not including a model with facial defects like the model, Gao, prevented H&M from negative repercussions.

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CONCLUSION Fig. 19: H&M. 2019.

In conclusion, H&M’s Fall 2016 Campaign, “She’s a Lady”, aimed to increase diversity and representation across mainstream media, challenging the contemporary representations of female beauty across cultures. The message and intention of the campaign was obvious, however, this attracted a degree of criticism, as arguments proposed the advert was excessive.

Furthermore, it may be noted that “She’s a Lady” serves as an anomaly to other campaigns by the brand, as the emphasis on inclusivity and diversity in H&M’s advertising practices was not maintained. Arguably, this decreasing the credibility of brand’s efforts, and reduces the impact of the campaign.

One may suggest the reason for the discontinuation of H&M’s inclusive advertising practices to be because perhaps it was assumed that one campaign would be enough to be considered a diverse brand, or because the advert attracted unwanted controversy and returning to the traditional approach is a ‘safer’ means of increasing operating profit, which decreased in the following quarters (H&M Group, 2018).

Although it can be said that the advertisement is extremely inclusive in light of what’s happening in the world right now in regards to inclusivity and a shift in a global social agenda, as previously mentioned, there are areas in which the advertisement can improve which has been proved possible by other brand campaigns.

Both InTheStyle and PrettyLittleThing have included disabled women in recent 2019 advertisements, something that H&M failed to do in this advertisement. See figure - & -.

However, it should be noted that the H&M campaign was created in 2016 and since then the conversation surrounding diversity and inclusivity has only strengthened, so a comparison between these campaigns perhaps isn’t fair.

13 Fig. 20: DailyMail. 2019.

Fig. 21: PrettyLittleThing. 2019.

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Figure. 1: Medhurst, D. 2016. H&M. [Online].

[Accessed: 14 February 2019]. Available from: https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/home-decorating/h ms-campaign-celebrates-women/ Figure. 2: Refinery29. 2016. H&M Fall 2016 Commercial She’s a Lady. [Online]. [Accessed: 18 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2016/09/123768/ hm-fall-2016-commercial-shes-a-lady Figure. 3: Diverge. 2016. H&M’s Fall Campaign : “She’s a Lady”. [Online] [Accessed: 18 March 2019]. Available from: http://divergenow.com/news/2016/11/hms-autumn-c ampaign-shes-lady/ Figure. 4: Little Things. No date. This 1955 ‘Good House Wife’s Guide’ Explains How Wives Should Treat Their Husbands. [Online]. [Accessed 24 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.littlethings.com/1950s-good-housewifeguide Figure. 5: Evening Standard. 2016. Plus-size model Ashley Graham fronts H&M Studio's latest campaign. [Online]. [Accessed 24 March 2019].

Available from: https://www.standard.co.uk/fashion/news/plussizemodel-ashley-graham-fronts-hm-studios-latest-cam paign-a3316866.html Figure. 6: Ad Stasher. 2016. H&M "She's A Lady" Commercial Shatters Ideas About Today's Woman for it's 2016 Autumn Collection. [Online]. [Accessed 24 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.adstasher.com/2016/09/h-m-shes-ladyad-celebrates-todays-woman.html Figure. 7: Soul Bounce. 2016. Lion Babe Reinvents ‘She’s A Lady’ For H&M’s Autumn 2016 Campaign.

[Online]. [Accessed 24 March 2019]. Available from: http://www.soulbounce.com/2016/09/__trashed/ Figure. 8: Daily Mail. 2016. Professional Thai boxer Fatima Pinto from Norway flexes her muscles in the new fashion advert. [Online]. [Accessed: 18 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3808800/ Does-H-M-s-new-advert-really-sum-means-lady.ht m

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Figure. 9: Adweek. 2016. H&M’s Stunning New Ad Subverts What You Think a Lady Should Look or Act Like. [Online] [Date Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from https://www.adweek.com/creativity/hms-stunning-n ew-ad-subverts-what-you-think-lady-should-look-oract-173487/ Figure. 10a: The Guardian. 2016. H&M’s diverse advert mirrors thereal world. Shame the ad industry doesn’t. [Online] [Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/ sep/28/hm-advert-diversity-ad-women Figure. 10b: The Guardian. 2016. H&M’s diverse advert mirrors thereal world. Shame the ad industry doesn’t. [Online] [Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/ sep/28/hm-advert-diversity-ad-women Figure. 11: HelloGiggles. 2016. H&M's new campaign celebrates all types of women and we love it. [Online] [Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/home-decorating/h ms-campaign-celebrates-women/ Figure. 12: Sport England. No date. This Girl Can is our nationwide campaign to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability.

[Online] [Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from https://www.sportengland.org/our-work/women/thisgirl-can/ Figure. 13: Drapers. 2017. Exclusive: H&M’s Carlos Duarte on the launch of its largest UK store.

[Online] [Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/hms-carlos-du arte-on-the-launch-of-its-largest-uk-store/7020678.a rticle Figure. 14: H&M. 2018. Ladies View All. [Online] [Accessed 21 March 2019] Available from: https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/ladies/shop-by-produc t/view-all.html Figure. 15: brandchannel:. (2019). H&M World Recycle Week Faces Fashion Revolution Week Protests. [online] [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].

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Figure. 16: Packshotmag. (2019). H&M Collection Automne 2016 - She's a lady - Packshotmag. [online] [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019]. Available at: http://www.packshotmag.com/films/hm-collection-a utomne-2016-shes-a-lady/ Figure 17: Elizabeth L. 2016. Watch H&M's Stunning, Relatable, Subtly Feminist New "She's a Lady" Ad. [Online]. [Date Accessed: 16 September 2016]. Available from: https://www.glamour.com/story/h-and-m-shes-a-la dy-fall-2016-campaign Figure 18: Audrey J. 2019. Uproar in China over Vogue’s depiction of Chinese model: Who’s wrong, who’s over sensitive [Online]. [Date Accessed 15 March 2019] Available from https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/uproar-c hina-over-vogues-depiction-chinese-model-whoswrong-whos-over-sensitive Figure. 19: H&M. 2019. [Online]. [Accessed 21 March 2019]. Available from: https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/ladies/new-arrivals/cl othes.htm Figure. 20: DailyMail. 2019. Alton Towers amputee Leah Washington features in a new body positivity campaign for InTheStyle. [Online]. [Date Accessed 27 February 2019]. Available from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6782875/ Alton-Towers-amputee-Leah-Washington-21-dazzl es-campaign-Style.html Figure. 21: PrettyLittleThing. 2019. #EverybodyinPLT 2019 Campaign. [Online]. [Date Accessed 26 February 2019]. Available from https://www.prettylittlething.com/campaigns/2019/i nternational-womens-day Figure. 22: Daily Mail. 2016. Professional Thai boxer Fatima Pinto from Norway flexes her muscles in the new fashion advert. [Online].

[Accessed: 18 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3808800/ Does-H-M-s-new-advert-really-sum-means-lady.ht ml

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