The fashion industry often catches flack for its controversial and sometimes disturbing depiction of Women. From underage models walking the catwalk, to the unhealthy culture of body shaming, it is quite bizarre how an industry so reliant on women, both as consumers and creators, continues to portray them in such an unflattering light.
Now it seems even young children can see right through Fashion Stereotypes. An interesting video by artist Yolanda Dominguez titled 'Nino vs. Moda', which when translated to English means, 'Children vs. Fashion' shows how glaring some of these depictions can be.
The premise of Dominguez's study is simple: show images of the latest fashion ad campaigns to children and ask them what they see. As soon as the video begins we can see the patterns begin to emerge. Women in fashion are often portrayed as weak, sickly, and sometimes flat out dead. While Men are shown as strong, authoritative, and professional.
The ads come from some of the world's hugest fashion houses like Dior, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, and Hugo Boss. Despite the diversity of the brands on show the similarities in their approaches to advertising is striking. The Women's ads often feature models in bizarre poses; bodies contorted, or splayed across the ground. One female ad even featured popular supermodel Cara Delevigne being thrown into a garbage can by two male models. As for the Men's ads, the models are always pictured looking right at the camera, exuding confidence and often times in superhero like poses.
In her website, Dominguez says that:
The result shows clearly the implicit violence and unequal treatment of men and women that exists in fashion editorials.
"It raises many questions about the hidden messages generated by the fashion world. Why are such images associated with glamour and luxury? Nobody denounces what influence they have in education. Why do brands support such messages? What can we do to change that?"
