September 15, 2015
These People Recreated Famous Fashion Ads, and This is What Happened
What does it really feel like to be a model? Throughout history to present day, iconic figures have stamped images in our minds of the ways in which we envision beauty, sex appeal and high-fashion. What does it take? What doesn't work? These images show everyday people posing to recreate ads we have all seen. The "models" took time to reflect on how the process made them feel.
Rocco: I felt awkward and sexy all at once. After seeing it, I was surprised to see that my body looked better than I usually think it does. As a trans person, I almost never see myself reflected in mainstream media, especially advertisements. I am virtually invisible to the mainstream and when my life or my body are considered, it is usually in a negative light. All of this can lead to many layers of body dysphoria and dysmorphia. In the process of re-creating an underwear ad, I think I had to face and confront those layers of body hate. If we lived in a world that showed us all different types of bodies, I wonder how my expectations or desire for a “perfect” body would shift.
Michelle: The makeup and hair made me feel beautiful and really confident, but I don’t like that it did. I want to be able to feel that way regardless of what I’m wearing. Also, the pose was actually pretty hard! I had to maintain this crazy backbend position in order to cheat the pose for the camera. I don’t know how Anna Nicole Smith made it look so effortless. It made me realize that truly anyone can look like a high-fashion model with enough makeup and Photoshop, and I need to remember that when I compare myself to these models all the time. My dad is Indian and my mom is white. Growing up, kids would tell me that I was adopted. I really hate to admit this, but more than anything I wanted to be white to be more like my mom and the people I saw in magazines. I now feel so much more confident in my skin, and this experience has really allowed me to embrace my skin colour.
Quinta: I felt a bit uncomfortable in the clothes. The dress wasn’t something I’d typically wear. I felt good about my hair that day until I saw it in that photo and didn’t think it matched the feel. I think that has a lot to do with ideal American beauty standards. Despite appreciating Chanel as a brand, and being a fan of Marilyn Monroe, I prefer my individual style over the one being sold in the ad.
What do you think of these recreations?
Source: Buzzfeed
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Rocco: I felt awkward and sexy all at once. After seeing it, I was surprised to see that my body looked better than I usually think it does. As a trans person, I almost never see myself reflected in mainstream media, especially advertisements. I am virtually invisible to the mainstream and when my life or my body are considered, it is usually in a negative light. All of this can lead to many layers of body dysphoria and dysmorphia. In the process of re-creating an underwear ad, I think I had to face and confront those layers of body hate. If we lived in a world that showed us all different types of bodies, I wonder how my expectations or desire for a “perfect” body would shift.
Candace: It was strange to live out my middle school dream: being that Abercrombie model everyone wanted to be so badly. It was so much fun, but definitely hot as hell in a fun and grossly sweaty way. It was nice to see my body type in an ad — the not skinny, but not plus-size body type. I loved it, and I loved getting to see so many everyday people show off what makes them beautiful.
Nick: I’ve been working hard on my body lately to conform to the standard of what is considered hot. Though I have a lot more work to do, it’s nice to see that damn, it ain’t so bad. It was also nice to experience modeling. Now I know that most of the ads I see are definitely majorly manipulated and not really what is going on. If you could have seen the work it took to get us in that position… THAT IS ALL.
Michelle: The makeup and hair made me feel beautiful and really confident, but I don’t like that it did. I want to be able to feel that way regardless of what I’m wearing. Also, the pose was actually pretty hard! I had to maintain this crazy backbend position in order to cheat the pose for the camera. I don’t know how Anna Nicole Smith made it look so effortless. It made me realize that truly anyone can look like a high-fashion model with enough makeup and Photoshop, and I need to remember that when I compare myself to these models all the time. My dad is Indian and my mom is white. Growing up, kids would tell me that I was adopted. I really hate to admit this, but more than anything I wanted to be white to be more like my mom and the people I saw in magazines. I now feel so much more confident in my skin, and this experience has really allowed me to embrace my skin colour.
Quinta: I felt a bit uncomfortable in the clothes. The dress wasn’t something I’d typically wear. I felt good about my hair that day until I saw it in that photo and didn’t think it matched the feel. I think that has a lot to do with ideal American beauty standards. Despite appreciating Chanel as a brand, and being a fan of Marilyn Monroe, I prefer my individual style over the one being sold in the ad.
What do you think of these recreations?
Source: Buzzfeed
Do you follow us on Instagram?
[caption id="attachment_109236" align="alignnone" width="100"] @BodyRockTV[/caption]