Fashion in Context Autumn Winter 2016
"She's A Lady" Campaign Analysis
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&M Ethan Harris Phoebe Holden
Sophie Miller Zhenlei Chen
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INTRODUCTION
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Issues with unrealistic standards of beauty have increased throughout present day society. Due to the mass acceptance of the one-sided representation of attractiveness promoted by the fashion industry, many people struggle with accepting their individual beauty. This report will focus on H&Ms Autumn 2016 campaign, and how they have responded to this issue by presenting a diverse range of models who redefine what it is to be a lady.
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H&Ms 2016 Autumn advert breaks society’s provisions and restrictions on women, instead highlighting their independence. It is a feminist appeal that encourages women to be themselves courageously. A number of unique and inspirational women appeared on print ads and videos which aimed to encourage ladies from all over the world to be themselves whilst promoting diversity and gender equality. This series surpasses conventional fashion and gives a new definition to the term "she's a lady" (Jones, 1967). The advertisement features people like Adwoa Aboah, one of the founders of Gurls Talk, whose platform aims to encourage women to bravely express themselves. Gurls Talk focuses on social justice rather than self-advocacy and releases inspiring messages about gender equality and women's solidarity (H&M, 2016). It also includes septuagenarian, ex-supermodel Lauren Hutton, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Design Army Pum Lefebure, top female Muay Thai fighter Fatima Pinto, transgender model Hari Nef (Weiner, 2016) and many more. Each of these women are a representative figure of feminism, and they all bravely escape the traditional stereotypes of women.
WHAT DOES THE ADVERT ACTUALLY SHOW? Zhenlei Chen
“She's a Lady” contains lyrics such as "She always knows her place" which is highly sexist, yet the advert reverses this by making a woman’s place anywhere she wants it to be. Women still call for equal opportunities and complete control of their body. H&M invited soul music group Lion Babe specifically to reinterpret the song "She's a Lady" for the ad video (Rodulfo 2016). Most women are required to be "ladies" during their growth. Therefore, the word "lady" is like an invisible bond that imprisons women. The advertisement does not show the models’ faces at the beginning. But then there is a model showing body flesh, a character with prominent muscles, girls showing armpit hair without hesitation and a character sitting indecently in a subway seat. The most exciting scene can be said to be the group with Jillian Hervey (lead singer of Lion Babe) eating at a table, in which someone is holding a knife and fork while talking, and displays a close up picking her teeth with a fork in public. Women are portrayed as rich and powerful throughout the advert, no longer wearing the invisible chains imposed by the society, but to live true to themselves. Furthermore, the commercial features individuals who represent feminist values, who are brave enough to escape tradition, and challenge the social stereotypes. What's more, these women pass the feminist appeal of H&M ads to encourage women to be themselves.
CHARACTERS IN THE ADVERT
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Figure 6: Screenshots of the models taken from the advert
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Figure 6: Screenshots of the models taken from the advert
CONTEMPORARY CANON OF BEAUTY Sophie Miller Figure 7
Women have gained depression along with many eating and mental disorders as they try to conform to society and to achieve this modern, ‘desirable figure’ that the media expose women to (epigee.org, 2017). The message of unrealistic images translates to women and teenagers that they are not pretty enough or skinny enough thus deflating their self-esteem. This advert portrays a variety of different shapes and sizes of women who are happy and confident within themselves despite their looks. Even though in the advert all the women have different body shapes, sizes and ethnicities they are all happy which makes them appear even more beautiful. They all bravely escape the traditional stereotypes of women. Happiness is ultimately what beauty stands for.
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The Oxford Dictionary's definition of beauty is “a combination of qualities such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight” (Oxford Dictionary, 2018). Ideals of beauty are constantly evolving. Nowadays, in order to gain ‘beauty’ females aspire and are confronted to the super model’s “perfect” bodies that are portrayed by the media, on the TV, movies and magazines. For example Kylie Jenner, Gigi Hadid and social media figures such as Alexis Ren. These qualities are almost always impossible to reach as in the past, the media have cast an unrealistic display of females through using super skinny models and the use of Photoshop to create flawless skin and perfect, skinny figures. There is a great desire to challenge the stereotypical norm of what beauty is as 71% of women and 67% of girls are demanding the media to “do a better job portraying women of diverse physical appearance, age, race shape and size” (Bushe, 2016).
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DOES THE ADVERT PROPOSE A MORE REALISTIC AND INCLUSIVE VERSION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BEAUTIFUL? Ethan Harris & Phoebe Holden The H&M AW16 advert displays a range of models which is extremely forward thinking for our times, suggesting one does not have to conform to the fashion industry’s impossible ideologies to be beautiful.
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Unfortunately, if we compare this to their Fall 2016 collection at Paris fashion week it is hard to see how the progression promoted in the advert, for the mass audience, finds itself onto the exclusive runway (figures 7 and 8). Whilst the models have various ethnicities, they are still tall, slim, and conventionally good looking. We can assume that the advert was meant for mass consumption in the hopes of affecting the demographics who are looking for an alternative answer to the issue of standardised beauty. This suggests that the advert itself was merely for promotional purposes and that the actual standard of beauty is still that of fashion models; exclusive and only for those who can afford it. Whilst the advert proposes a more inclusive version of beauty, H&M’s actions thereafter suggest they themselves still do not believe in it.
IS THE ADVERT FULLY INCLUSIVE, OR ARE CERTAIN ISSUES BEING EXCLUDED? Phoebe Holden This is an important issue as the average UK dress size is 14 (Bates, 2016), and the majority women fit neither the plussize nor traditional model figure, so an increase in differently proportioned models would have been more inclusive. Another issue is that whilst including many different people, each person only has a single difference. We do not see, for instance, a plus-sized transgender or older lesbian model, which would have proved that beauty knows no bounds. Furthermore, various religions and disabilities such as Hinduism and dwarfism aren’t even slightly represented. These may have been difficult to portray without offending anyone and keeping the positive, upbeat tone of the advert, yet isn’t the entire advert controversial?
Using the wide variety of models they did may have offended those unwilling to accept diversity, yet it was an imperative step forward. It is disappointing that they did not include more variety as many would be eager to celebrate diversity, but the most likely reason for excluding certain people is that H&M found it either hard to represent them unoffensively or that they simply could not fit everyone in. The premise of the advert is that anyone can be strong, confident, and beautiful; ‘a lady’ in their terms, and whilst they captured this attitude, it is unfortunate that a more diverse range of ‘ladies’ were not shown.
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Most modern day advertisements target ‘flaws’ and suggest their product will remove them. H&M does the opposite, and celebrates diversity by showing that characteristics that some people view as flaws are beautiful in their eyes, making the audience believe H&M is on their side. Thinking objectively, it is impossible to be fully inclusive as there are so many unique people in the world that it would be impossible to show them all, however there are characteristics that could have been easily represented. Firstly, there is little size variation, featuring only one plus-sized model and the rest industry standard slim figures, excluding those who are in-between, thinner, larger, or disproportional.
SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES TO THE ADVERT...
“Horrible. Women should stay feminine, healthy… and shave your armpits ladies because hairy are disgusting” (Adamiac, 2016)
“Love this advert!! Shows women at their best!!”(Holliday, 2016) “This was cool. Natural feel, bold, controlled but energetic”(Partel, 2016)
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“Normal sized women, brilliant positive image being shown to our young women & teenage girls” (Wilson, 2016) “Your plus selection sucks. I feel like that was just for show… I always leave the store sad that I can’t fit anything” (Jackson, 2016) “if you have purposely put a girl with scarred armpits on your advert, thank you. I have a skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa which scares skin in many places, including armpits and it's nice to feel that me and other sufferers can relate to on an advert” (Eardley, 2016) Figure 10
(Source: Facebook comments on the video)
BROADER MEANING OF THE ADVERT Ethan Harris
For example, the lyrics “she’s the kind I’d like to flaunt and take to dinner” opposes the characters waving their cutlery in the air and picking food out of their teeth at a dinner party. This scene is then further emphasized by the child character who represents the ‘princess’ within our societal norms. To further, the societal norms are represented through this child, this is done because the connotations of a child are innocence, and in-experience, and yet we have this younger character looking cautious at the other characters who are defying social norms, this implies that the corruption/ issues of society start from a younger age and H&M are highlighting this fact. Further on, the lyrics “talking about that little lady” are in juxtaposition with a scene of a female body builder wearing a little black dress. “Little lady” refers to the stereotypical fragility of the female gender, yet we have a character who possesses the stereotypical hegemonic characteristics of the ‘ideal male’. The low angle shot suggests dominance with the character and here H&M are promoting that femininity is not the only aspect of female beauty standards. The broader message that is implied within the advert, has notions of reinstating the values of beauty within the fashion industry. H&M give its audience a range of characters with all different characteristics and qualities, here we have a fashion brand that highlighting the social issues within society, such as objectification, unrealistic ideologies and standards of beauty, and presenting a cast of relatable characters that allow the audience to accept themselves.
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In the first few seconds of the advert we are introduced to numerous characters, yet the camera – which acts as the audience’s perception – is positioned behind the characters, so we can’t see their faces. This in turn gives them a lack of identity, possibly highlighting the present issue that particular brands associate their models with being objects of sexual desire. Therefore, setting the scene and emphasizing the message of the advert, as later on we begin to see who these characters are. With the lack of identity, the viewer is forced to use stereotypes to give the characters personalities, we then see these characters (with our prejudged associations) defy social norms. On the other hand, the lack of identity at the start of the doesn’t only suggest that the characters represent the brand but also represent a larger demographic, in which the viewers can envision themselves as these characters. Due to this, a larger involvement from the audience is created. We then go on to see that the lyrics of the song (“She's a lady” originally sang by Tom Jones but remastered by Lion Babe in this music video) relate to specific scenes within the advert
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CONCLUSION
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However, one cannot criticise the company for not trying. They have listened to what people think are the issues within society and how the fashion industry exploit people’s insecurities, and answered by offering an alternative lifestyle choice in which the ‘perfect model’ is not perfect. Presenting their consumers with an image that they can relate to is tactical and promotes positive brand image. Yet despite H&M being successful in promoting the message of individuality and a new sense of beauty, we must examine their sales figures to determine if the advert had any impact on consumers. Berger (1972) states that “the spectator-buyer is meant to envy herself as she will become if she buys the product.” explaining, “she is meant to imagine herself transformed by the product into and object of envy for others, an envy which will justify her loving herself.” He implies that everyone wants to be a better self, thus, the advert must exploit this in order to sell clothing, contradictory for an advertisement that states it is okay to be yourself. H&M publish a quarterly and annual report, and for the end of 2016, after the advert was published, we see that “The H&M group’s sales including VAT increased by 7 percent in local currencies during the fourth quarter [of 2016].” (H&M, 2017). From this we can conclude that the PR department and the implemented marketing strategies were successful in promoting the brand as an inclusive and progressive company, as well as boosting profits and sales. These figures prove that the advert had a short term advantageous effect on the H&M brand, yet may also prove to be beneficial in the long-term due to the more positive brand image.
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The advert is progressive in the sense that it includes a variety of models within its campaign which competitors seem to lack. However, highlighting the characters differences in order to promote them as fashion is a way in which H&M implement an unethical marketing strategy. To continue, there appears to be only one modelper-difference and one difference-per-model, yet the models are painted as icons. This suggests that H&M are still categorizing people, and the fact that most of them, while being different in other ways, still conform to catwalk model figures disregards actual people. It can be argued that while not imitating traditional methods of promoting fashion, they are using extremes that oppose stereotypical perfection to get the brand recognised. The advert is not simply there to sell clothes, but to prove what H&M are supposedly about – redefining ideals and celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes. Michael Gross stated within 'What is Beauty' (Schefer, 1997) that “lately both sexes have reached an agreement about the very young, very thin women who’ve been cropping up more and more in advertisements and fashion magazines” he goes on to say that “we don’t like them very much, and we believe they create a bad – as opposed to perfect or ideal – image for women”. H&M tries to re-brand this idea of an ideal girl by giving its audience a handful of generalised characters, that possess qualities opposite of conventional perfection and labelling it as the new idea of beauty. It could be argued that by singling out their differences and using them for marketing purposes, H&M are exploiting peoples weaknesses as much as other adverts, the only discernable difference being H&M paint themselves as being inclusive rather than exclusive.
References: Jones, T. 1967. She’s A Lady. Tom Jones Sings She’s A Lady. [Vinyl]. US: Parrot Records H&M. 2016. Adwoa Aboah has all her sisters with her. [Online]. [Last Accessed 16/03/18]. Available from: http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/life/culture/topmodel-secrets/adwoa-aboah-has-all-hersisters-with-her.html
Rodulfo, K. 2016.Watch H&M’s most inclusive campaign yet. ELLE. [Online] [Last Accessed 18/02/18]. Available from: http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a39110/e xclusive-watch-hm-fall-2016-campaign-video/ Oxford Dictionaries. 2018. Beauty: Definition of
beauty in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [Online] [Last Accessed
18/03/18]. Available from: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/be auty Bushe, M. 2016. New Dove Research Finds Beauty Pressures Up, and Women and Girls Calling for Change. [Online]. [Last Accessed 16/03/18]. Available from: https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/new-dove-research-finds-beautypressures-up-and-women-and-girls-calling-forchange-583743391.html
Bates, C. 2016. How does 'Curvy Barbie' compare with an average woman?. BBC. [Online] [accessed on 20th February 2018]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazin e-35670446 Facebook Comments: Adamiac, M. and Holliday, C. and Partel, P. and Wilson, M. and Jackson, S. and Eardley, V. 2016. Comment on: H&M. Fall Fashion Video. Facebook. [Online]. Comment posted in 2016. [Last Accessed 24/04/18]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/hmunited kingdom/videos/981662791956769/ Berger, J. 1972. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books
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Weiner, Z. 2016. Who Are The Women In The H&M ‘Ladylike’ Ad? Meet The Badass Stars. [Online]. [Last Accessed 16/03/18]. Available from: https://www.bustle.com/articles/186469who-are-the-women-in-the-hm-ladylike-admeet-the-badass-stars-photos
Epigee. 2018. The Media Impact. [Online] [Last Accessed 03/03/18]. Available from: http://www.epigee.org/the-effect-ofmedia-on-women-and-girls-self-esteem
Schefer, D. 1997. What is beauty? London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. H&M. 2017. H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Full-year report. [Online]. [Last Accessed 06/04/18]. Available from: https://about.hm.com/en/media/news/fin ancial-reports/2017/1/2441626.html
Figures: Figure 1: Fashion Gone Rogue. 2016. H&M’s Fall
Collection Takes Inspiration From the Streets. Look 1. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Figure 6: H&M. 2016. H&M New Autumn Collection. YouTube. [Online]. [Last Accessed 16/03/18]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RY6fWVrQ0
Figure 2: Fashion Gone Rogue. 2016. H&M’s Fall
Figure 7: Fashion Gone Rogue. 2016. H&M’s Fall
06/04/18]. Available from: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/hm-fall2016-clothing-shop/
06/04/18]. Available from: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/hmfall-2016-clothing-shop/
06/04/18]. Available from: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/hm-fall2016-clothing-shop/
Collection Takes Inspiration From the Streets. Look 2. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Collection Takes Inspiration From the Streets. Look 5. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Figure 8: Chichowski, H. 2016. The H&M Show
06/04/18]. Available from: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/hm-fall2016-clothing-shop/
06/04/18]. Available from: http://www.thegloss.com/fashion/hm-fall2016-collection-paris-fashion-week-showmodels-photos/
Collection Takes Inspiration From the Streets. Look 3. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Might Have Just Won Paris Fashion Week Already. Look 1. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Figure 4: Fashion Gone Rogue. 2016. H&M’s Fall
Figure 9: Chichowski, H. 2016. The H&M Show
06/04/18]. Available from: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/hm-fall2016-clothing-shop/
06/04/18]. Available from: http://www.thegloss.com/fashion/hm-fall2016-collection-paris-fashion-week-showmodels-photos/
Collection Takes Inspiration From the Streets. Look 4. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Figure 5: H&M. 2016. Lion Babe Gives New Life To She’s A Lady. [Online]. [Last Accessed 06/04/18]. Available from: http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/life/culture/in terview/lion-babe-gives-new-life-to-shes-alady.html
Might Have Just Won Paris Fashion Week Already. Look 2. [Online]. [Last Accessed
Figure 10: Fashion Gone Rogue. 2016. H&M’s Fall
Collection Takes Inspiration From the Streets. Look 6. [Online]. [Last Accessed 06/04/18]. Available from: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/hmfall-2016-clothing-shop/
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Figure 3: Fashion Gone Rogue. 2016. H&M’s Fall