Fashion advertising for the male gaze

Powley !1 Vera Powely Integrated Seminar 2 Eric Dean Wilson 3/13/2017 Fashion Advertising for the Male Gaze

Post-election America has generated an unprecedented amount of community involvement in activism and an overall national shift in social attitudes towards equality. Many brands have embraced this trend of advocacy and have incorporated it into their image and campaigns. It is, thus, particularly shocking when brands revert back to hackneyed and often objectionable means of promoting their products. Women are still frequently objectified to the extent that they are merely fleshy props- even in advertisements promoting products for women.

While objectification in any form is undoubtedly unacceptable, the objectification of women in ads for women- especially when accompanied by a dominant male figure- is particularly atrocious because it impacts women on a deep and subconscious level, while promoting a dangerous ‘ideal’ and aspiration. Santoni’s Spring 2017 collection demonstrates this perpetual hypocrisy within the fashion world.

The advertisement is promoting Santoni’s new spring line of shoes, in this particular ad, a pair of emerald green backless crocodile loafers with a tapered toe, each adorned with two matching emerald tassels. Their shape and composition screams ‘old money,’ but the color gives it a novel-yet-refined kick. One major detail about the shoes that remains unclear is whether the shoes are marketed for men or women, and further investigation on the website provided no answers. The ad itself is certainly no help in discerning this, as the placement of the shoes is not even on the feet of the subjects. Instead, peculiarly, the right shoe is tucked between the woman’s

Powley !2 left breast and the strap of her black slip dress. The left shoe is stuffed in the left pocket of the man’s suit jacket, the toe facing upwards. The man, Maurizio Cattelan, who’s name appears above the brand’s own, is an Italian artist known for his quirky and often controversial art.

Cattelan appears to be in his late fifties or early sixties, and wears his silver hair in a modern pompadour cut. His classical handsomeness is apparent in his long, deep-set dimples and dark brown eyes. The crisp tailored suit he is wearing contrasts with the woman’s conspicuous lack of clothing. The nameless model is wearing a tight, thigh-grazing, silky black slip with black lace trim. Underneath she has on sheer black tights, and nothing else.

At first glance the ad looks perfectly harmless- a little sexy, but not unlike most other advertisements. With further inspection, however, it is apparent that some seemingly insignificant details are in fact disconcertingly intentional. Cattelan is holding the model around the waist with his left hand, his right hand covering her eyes as her head is tilted back, apparently in wild laughter, as if her male companion had snuck up to grab her from behind. Her face, besides her mouth and the tip of her nose, is concealed, making her anonymous- simply a body.

Her body is bent at an uncomfortable angle, a slight contrapposto pose, giving her a tiny thigh gap where her legs meet the hem of her dress. Both hands are resting on Cattelan’s, though, notably, the muscles in her left arm are tensed in a way that suggest she is almost trying to push away from him. This is all happening while Cattelan has a huge grin on his face and a mischievous look in his eyes as he peers up to the camera. According to Susan Bordo, a writer and Women’s Studies professor at the University of Kentucky, in her book The Male Body, Cattelan would fall somewhere in-between being a rock and a leaner. 1 His body is draped over 1

Susan Bordo, “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body,” in The Male Body. (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000), 838-840.

Powley !3 the model’s, and he does exude a boyish quality, but his stare is direct and in obvious control of the situation. If the model was not smiling, this ad would present a much darker tone.

Other than body language, there are many unnerving details spread throughout the ad.

While Cattelan is fully clothed, the model is scantily clad, looking as though she is in the midst of undressing or getting dressed up for a sophisticated event. Her red nails are also an iconic symbol of female beauty and sex appeal. This further portrays the idea that she is there just to look good. The pink background with a plain white door is ultra-feminine and displays a kind of innocence and young girlishness. Furthermore, the obvious and substantial difference in age promotes the archetype of the “playboy,” with an older, wealthy man and a younger ‘trophy’ woman.

Part of the reason why this ad is so haunting is because it is unclear who the targeted audience is. Assuming that the shoe is made for women (the pointed toe, open back, and slight heel makes it appear that way,) women are supposed to look at the ad and fantasize about being the model. Men are intended to aspire to be Cattelan- a, confident, powerful, wealthy man who has young, beautiful women to buy gifts for. This blatant objectification of a woman in an ad for women is particularly problematic because it projects the ideal woman as someone who is submissive, provocative, and uncomplicated- all to fulfill the wishes of a (straight) male viewer.

Powley !4 Bibliography Bordo, Susan. “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body.” In The Male Body, 827-843. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.