THE EXOTIC OTHER AND CATWALKS

Designers have been scrutinised by both the media and audiences for the lack of black models that have been cast in  the recent shows, causing controversy.

Dior has been slammed by the press for the all-white casting in the catwalk shows since the direction of Raf Simons, however the fashion house responded by casting 6 black models in the 2013 summer couture show. Other designers such Calvin Klein have been accused of tokenism by casting only one black  model but no more.

However, in contrast,  London based designer Ashish decided to cast an all black model cast. He has always chosen to have a multicultural casting, to reflect London the home of his designs. The casting caused waves amongst the industry due to its perception as a runway stunt, however it was just his response to the constant whiteness of most designer runways despite efforts from designers such as himself to cry for change. It's questionable why in the current day in age it is such a surprise for a designer to make the decision to have an entirely black cast, where as having an entirely white cast doesn't even credit a double take.

THE EXOTIC OTHER AND FASHION MAGAZINES

To different markets, different ideals are presented as exotic. For the majority of fashion destinations,  the blonde, caucasian model is viewed as the norm however in emerging economies such as China and the Middle east the pale skinned, fair haired model is viewed as an exotic presentation of women.

In western fashion advertising and promotion, such as campaigns, catwalks and promotional imagery, the use of white models heavily out weighs the number of black models featured. The first issue of Vogue was published in 1916, but it took until 1966 for the cover to feature a black model.

The first black cover star was Donyale Luna, however, her appearance on the cover featured her covering her face and sporting a western hairstyle. Despite equality, in fashion black and white models aren't equally printed, with  the most recent individual black cover star being Naomi Campbell in 2002, 12 years ago.

There has been campaigning to place Jourdan Dunn as a cover star, especially since her recent high profile industry position as a Burberry girl and Prada model. It appears though, that there is only one stand out black model per generation, despite the vast amount of successful black models currently working the runways and it's especially shocking when contrasted against the number of white 'it' models. For the last five decades, young women have only had Donyale Luna, Naomi Sims, Iman, Naomi Campbel and Jourdan Dunn as main sources of highly promoted black models.

In September 2013, Naomi Campbell, Iman and Bethann Hardison wrote an open letter asking for designers to reflect society more effectively and diversify their catwalks."No matter the intention, the result is racism. Not accepting another based on the colour of their skin is clearly beyond aesthetic."

There has been much anger towards British Vogue and their lack of diversified casting, with Carole White founder of Premier Model Management stating "I'm surprised that there has not been a black model on the cover of British Vogue for this amount of time as we are such a diverse country, but perhaps British Vogue think the calibre of black models are not out there?". Within the last 10 years of September Issue British Vogue, the biggest and best selling issue of each year, they have cast entirely white models with 50% of the covers featuring Kate Moss. The lack of diversity is echoed in the cover stars of September Issue American Vogue in the last 10 years, featuring one black cover star Halle Berry however she is wearing a westernised wig. This lack of black model representation is surprising since Vogue America appears in 1 in 3 households in the states.

THE GLOBAL MARKET PLACE

The global market place is changing as new economies are strengthening such as:

Brazil
Russia
Indonesia
China

Turkey
Indonesia
Mexico
Phillipines
Nigeria

As these market places develop, fashion brands will have to adapt to cater for what would appeal to their market. 

The well established brands are wising up to the interest the emerging markets have and their tastes. Brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton have established a presence in these economies, thier success due to the fact the emerging markets with new money value the heritage of the brands.

Due to this, brands have taken advantage of the interest and used it to gain profit, for instance Prada sold sales on the Honk Kong stock exchange.

As western brands are increasing in presence in the eastern economies, there is also the trend of the rise of the Japanese designer - the most prominent stars being Comme des Garcons and Kenzo.

CREATING A SHOP FRONT

 SELLING YOURSELF:

In the industry of fashion promotion it is important to create a 'shop front' for yourself as individual. The 'shop front' is the outward presentation of yourself to the industry, essentially it is the promotion of brand 'you'. In order to create a professional shop front, you should create synergy across media and literate about yourself to create a strong representation of you. 

It is essential to have a CV that shows you skills and past experience clearly, so it promotes yourself and your qualities concisely to future employers. The job market is changing and it is important to promote yourself across social media too:

To ensure your profile is available on all platforms you should consider having handles on the following platforms:

-Linked In
-Facebook
-Twitter
-Instagram

Competitions:

It can also boost your profile by having won industry recognised competitions such as:

-D&AD

THE WORKINGS OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY

I have looked into the workings of the industry and who plays a part in which part and why.

SUSTAINABILITY OF FASHION

As  the market place changes, with growth of new economies, the availability of resources, the means of production all altering constantly fashion has to ensure that is it changing in line with the rest of the world. I will look at how fashion will ensure that it remains sustainable and what it has to do to ensure this:

The Global Community:
As the world becomes more interconnected, this has become a plus and a minus for the fashion industry. The issue of distance has become more and more irrelevant as travelling has become so much easier. The internet has made us more and more connected, so sharing other cultures has become as simple as a click of a button, we can view what different cities look like online and their unique street style and personal culture can be blogged and shared via social media. In sense, despite the distance we have become closer together - the different communities becoming one large global community. This is a plus due to the creative environment it can breed and the sharing of various ideas, however as we all share we all become more alike, merging into one so soon as the world develops there is a lack of distinctive difference between communities. As the difference decreases this is good in terms of branding established products in new companies as the methods of promotion will no longer have to change so drastically however, will this lack of diversity be missed? In order for fashion to sustain momentum and interest it must keep innovating and recreating, and to do so the global community must be aware of the differences and keep them thriving to create a more culturally diverse market.


Consider consumption:
When designing garments designer have to consider the life span of their products. If creating short lived trends it is likely consumer will just purchase the products and throw away by the end of the season, continually doing so is not sustainable for both fashion and the environment.


Use of Resources:
 The world of fashion is faced past and due to high street and economy brands fast fashion is booming.In  the digital age, trends spread quickly and often fizzle out before they have a chance to fully blossom but still many fashionistas are quick to want to jump on the and wagon, that is where the world of fast fashion comes into play. The speed of design to shop floor process is ever decreasing, with high street brands such as Primark able to get clothes onto shop floor from the sketch book in as little as two weeks. With these type of trends they aren't as sustainable as long lasting designs and therefore brands have to think of the resources they use.
Fabrics such as cotton are sustainable and easy to produce however others have a much more damaging effect on the environment. For instance the fur industry is thriving currently and struggling to reach the demand, especially since regulations of what fur is permitted to be used, produced and sold where.


Sustaining brands in new economies:
As new emerging markets are born such as the MINTs and the BRICs, their desire for fashion is increased and with new masses of consumers with large amounts of disposable income available, large fashion brands look to move into these areas. As they establish brands in these new markets, companies have to be aware of what in permitted socially and morally acceptable in terms of products and advertising  and have to adhere to the new markets rules and regulations. When establishing new flagships in the emerging market, fashion houses have ensure hey sustain their brand ethos and identity, so the brand image created in the new markets is fluent to the established image of the brand in the western world.

The new value economy:
In order to stay current and attractive to consumers, brands have to think of new innovative ways to sustain customers loyalty. The new value economy is the idea that consumers no longer look to trade with just monetary values, and frequently use loyalty schemes and other monetary alternatives such as accrued points to pay. This develops a relationship between the brand and the costumer, as they are persuaded to return to the brand if they know if there is a sense of reward, for example free products for continual loyalty. Examples of this are nectar points or Boots reward cards.

Change to sustain:
Brand will have to be more innovative and employ new tactics of promotion in order to sustain. In the digital age, brands  should encompass new technologies in order to saturate the market place. They can do so by creation handles on all social media platforms to ensure consumers are always up to date and aware - sustaining an of moment brand presence.


Collaboration:
Businesses can become more sustainable both environmentally and economically by collaborating. Big brand collaborations such as Apple and Burberry and Alexander Wang and H&M have been successes due to the fact they offer a sense of exclusivity to draw the customer in and the fact that each brand sits of opposing ends of the market allows them to tap into each other's audiences. The collaborations create something new and innovative, allows the success of the brand to be sustained in their own market as well as being generated in a new one.

POLITICS OF FASHION: SOCIAL CONDITIONING

Fashion is an industry inspired by culture, a channel of communication through the medium of clothing and the semiotics associated are a constant source of controversy. The rules of fashion for many may be 'there are no rules', the creativity and opportunity for expression meaning that there a very little, if not any, guidelines to be adhered to however there a still some lines of what is acceptable and what is not that are increasingly becoming extremely blurred and vague. Due to social conditioning of what society has deemed previously and sees now as acceptable - the opinions of what can be used/shown/portrayed to society are even more muddled.


Fur in fashion

Fur in fashion has been a constant source of debate for centuries. For what was thought to be the end of fur in the mainstream fashion industry in the last decade after relentlessly campaigning by animal rights charities such as PETA, with million pound campaigns featuring supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford baring all with little other on in the poster except the strap line 'I'd rather go naked than wear fur',  in the last few seasons there seems to have been a fur renaissance. The autumn/winter 2014 catwalks featured real fur in the shows of high end designers such as Christopher Kane and Roksanda Ilincic, consequently then followed the media being bombarded by influential celebrities unashamedly flaunting their fur affair. Despite the recent resurgence of fur in fashion,with in march the biggest auction of furs ever seen in the industry in Helskini with prices reaching record highs and demand being so high there is a desperate skills shortage, a poll 3 years ago by RSPC revealed that 95% of people in the UK would refuse to wear fur at all. But in recent times, with technological advances, the industry is able to make faux fur that looks as realistic as the real thing, so consumers can achieve old hollywood glamour minus the guilt of animals having to be cruelly (and unnecessarily) slaughtered for a garishly dyed (a la Prada) pelt. As the younger generation has discovered fur, the industry has been able to do more with real fur in terms of mixing it with other fabrics, thinning and dying the product - however designers such as Charlotte Simone have created realistic alternative but offer a fully plastic pelt. The designer Charlotte Simone commented on her collection as " a collection that was as luxurious and soft as the real thing, yet purely faux",  the faux alternative also meant the designer and more freedom stating: "  I could experiment more with colours, designs and my collection using faux fur which was interesting to me as a designer."

The faux fur debate is a choice that is hard to justify in this day and age, after years of relentless campaign by organisations some may see it as the industry taking a step backwards,  however ultimately the decision is up to the wearer.

semiotics

Semiotics in the simplest sense is the study of images and how they can be read as communication. Looking at what the image can denote and its associated connotations, the consumer can decipher the intended meanings to understand what the brands message was. 

Semiotics can be included in advertising as well as clothing it self, for instance Vivienne Westwood's designs within the 1980's were controversial and implied messages that were symbolic to the punk culture at the time. In recent times, most semiotics within fashion are less controversial - for example just brand logos and it's associated use with a social class. However, this kind association can be damaging for brands.

An example of how associated may damage a brand is Burberry. In the late 1990's and early noughties, the signature Burberry check was a pattern associated with the working class and 'chav' culture as they adopted the Burberry brand as their subcultures ideal of 'desirable'. This meant the high end consumer that was Burberry's target mar get no longer wanted this type of association and the brands image was one of negativity rather than matching the brand identity of heritage, tradition and english values.The brand has managed to disassociate itself with the relations of the past through a brand revival, with the introduction of Christopher Bailey as creative director and the Burberry nurturing young talent to gain a perception of the brand being young, up to date and 'cool'.



lack of subculture

In post war britain, after the restrictions of war life where children were pulled into adult hood as quick as their physical development would allow there was a youth quake,  a youth revolution. The 1950's brought the birth of the teenager, a new rebellion with rock and roll. Britain was the epicentre of youth culture birthing the Teddy boys and Mods in the late fifties to the skinheads and hippies of the sixties, punks and goths of the seventies and new romantics and disco of the eighties. For decades teenage subculture was booming, the expression of the clothing defining generations as you style was sculpted by your background, fashion, ethnicity and status. Youth cultures created divisions, not only between each other but generations too - the extreme presentation on an individual in a subculture encapsulated the pure,creative freedom that one has in the rebellion of youth.

But as the male make up wore of and the ravers came into the nineties and nineties norm core and grunge was born it seemed that subcultures had had their moment- everything had merged into one, as fashion took it back to basics of high necks, low rise jeans and simplistic branding that was norm core. Everything had become just that - normal.

It seems at the moment in 2014 fashion is having a nostalgic moment and the nineties norm core is back running on a high. The sleek silhouettes, muted tones and basic shapes bring a uniform to fashion, it appears the motto has become 'if you want to look fashionable, all look the same'. 

With this lack of subculture, fashion has lost the variety and controversy that it had before. There is no longer key styles to define a generation. It could be said that the internet has played a contribution to this, it has speeded up the process of sharing a lot faster, so trends are being spread and fizzling out before they have had a chance to develop.

Fashion has become a cyclical process, trends revolve around until they are back in the for front, repeating was we have seen before with a slight rejuvenation.

For a new subculture to be born, fashion will have to do the same as trend forecasting - get inspired by other cultures, innovate and regenerate so we are no longer stuck within the norm.

THE FUTURE OF FASHION: ADAPTATION

As the consumer market place adapts, incorporating new technologies such as social media platforms, apps and interactive technologies the fashion industry has to follow suit - becoming more innovative with the methods of promotion used to be able to entice customers to purchase from their individual brand in the heavily saturated market place.

Technology:

An example of a new innovative marketing tool was devised by Guatemalan shoe company 'Meatpack' where they developed an app called 'Hijack'.Using GPS technology, the app recognises when one a 'sneaker head' enters one of the official stores of one of the brands sold at Meat Pack - this sets off a trigger and countdown for the customer to reach the store, starting at 99% a reducing a percent per second. The percent on the app when the customer reaches the store would be the percentage off the product.

With the environment being so heavily saturated by technology, an individual can feel over whelmed by having to be continuously online and connected. The stealth pocket is an invention that when a device is placed inside it, the device cannot be reached and metaphorically the person has become 'invisible'.

It's innovative uses of technology that will be key in the future of promotion in regards to driving consumers and clients in the near future.

Going Native:

With the world be ever more connected, with the other side of th world's produce easily in reach it is no longer the exotic thats appealing and more what is closer to home. Consumers are wanting to go local, however in packaging terms, local can be anything up to 500 miles. The lines have been distorted for what can be deemed as home made and not - with the label 'made in britain' still being acceptable as long as the product was finished in Britain regardless of wherever else it was made for the rest of it's journey.

Avoiding Maga-systems:

According to LS:N we will look for ways to live and work outside coporations which currently dominate our lives.  Companies such as  Apple and Starbuck do not pay tax through finding alternate methods to avoid it.

The Age of Collaboration:

In fashion's future, there is a stronger prominence of collaboration between brands. The big designers have moved from focusing on the 'ME' to 'WE',  noting the benefits of sharing the success of a project as it allows the appearance in both of the companies market places and exposing the information to alternate audiences,hopefully increasing the projects success. Examples of this are Burberry and Apple's collaboration for the launch of the iPhone 5s at the s/s 14 show in September 2013. The phone was used to film the show to showcase the camera capabilities, this was down prior to the mass launch of the phone to gain public interest. Other collaborations of note are those between designer brand and high street stores, such as Alexander Wang and H&M. These kind of collaboration draw together and saturate two opposing market levels of economy fashion and high end - attracting a different type of clientele to what would be seen usually for the store.

TREND FORECASTING

Trend Forecasting is the process of looking at the consumer market as a whole - looking at other industries such as automobiles, medicine, food and beverages, literature and home furnishing and from these markets depicting what will be the latest fashion trends.Identifying these trends is important as it allows companies to successfully market their products to their audiences taste, helping the profits of the brands and overall businesses.

Trend forecasters have 'shared situation awareness' where observational research is done in a professional context - themes and ideas which are prominent to the current market are highlighted, this is how the upcoming trends are deciphered. This is process is influenced by the opinion formers, the individuals who spark the initial inspiration. For fashion to create something new, fashion cannot feed fashion that it why research to other markets is compulsory. 

Teams create trends through the ability to recognise a pattern in a fluid situation and to use this information to anticipate what will happen next. Due to the continually increasing pace of the environment, with the internet and social  media, trends no longer have longevity.

There are three steps in the process of to forecasting a trend:

1. observing the raw data

2.spot patterns to form a hypothesis to how the situation might unfold

3. test the hypothesis

In terms of trends once they have been identified, they can be described in a number of ways.

FORDS: Fast selling ideas, idea of the moment. Also referred to as 'fizz buys'.

TRAFALGARS: Designers developing ideas, slow selling ideas.

BUBBLE UP: Ideas from the street bubble up to inspire designers.

TRICKLE DOWN: Trends that were created on the catwalk that have trickled down to be interpreted by the street.

The fact that many designers have complimenting collections each season is due to the fact their trend forecaster highlight the current trends for the season, and select the ones that would be most suitable for the market and most high end designer share the same consumers.

1. 
   

EMERGING FASHION MARKETS: THE NEW CLIENTELE

With the birth and increasing prominence of the new markets such as the MINT's and the BRIC's, high fashion has spread globally, as these strengthening eastern economies increase in purchasing the goods. With the perception of these previously 'developing' countries changing to those of economic potential, a new clientele of fashion has been born - dominating the previous western lead, as China is now the largest consumer of Luxury goods. With the BRICs having a stronger influence as they continue to heavily consume the fashion market, is the part they play in the profits of the large conglomerates leading to a change in the face of fashion?

As western countries no longer lead in consumption, with Fashion houses such as Dior and Bottega Veneta looking to become more established in China, holding shows in Shanghai and how china looks to western culture for consumer trends. But as the centre of fashion is slowly becoming more east - are the promotion campaigns going to follow suit?

Currently, when looking at current advertising, the Caucasian, Blonde, young woman predominantly defines fashion. Large brands continue to cast the same facial aesthetic with the success of brit models Cara Delevigne and Kate Moss still riding high. A reason for the continued use of such models may be that costumers of emerging markets could possibly attracted to campaigns featuring the familiar brit faces as for them they represent 'an exotic other' to them. The pale skinned,blonde hair beauty for them may appear exotic as it an usual site for them in thier countries, and the 'otherness' and uniqueness may be something consumers wish to buy into. However, an alternate reason could be the value of heritage that eastern markets have and brands with a strong history such as Dior, Chanel and Prada offer this, regardless of the face of their brand.

But despite the reasoning for the current success of brands and their campaigns in emerging markets, as the prominence of these countries economies continue to blossom in the fashion industry advertising will have to become reflective of this.

SEMIOTICS: WHAT ARE THEY?

Semiotics in the simplest sense of the word is the study of signs and how they can be interpreted by an individual. The study of meaning-making - the meaning gained from the image/object created on the basis of human understanding, generated through one's cultural capital, experiences and relations.

Whenever we look at a particular image or object, whether a logo, symbol or advertisement an understanding is conjured in our brain so that we are able to digest what we have seen and make sense. This is said to be done through the semiotic triangle where an individual sees a sign, through conventions they are able to identify the object, where past experience understands the conception leading to the perception of what has been seen. This method can be put into the semitic equation of:

       signifier                    Thing(s) that give meaning, objects or image being seen

sign=   ————–              The sign being anything that conveys meaning                                                          

            signified                   Messages given off by image or object

The idea of semiotics came from the work of Linguist Ferdinand de Sassure (who stated that a sign is made from the signifier and the signified) and Charles Sandes Pierce who believed semiotics to be the relationship between the symbol, icon and index. Their work combined created the equation above. 

Semiotics are important in fashion as fashion itself, through the garments worn when and where and by whom is a form of communication - and the reading of clothing as symbolism, enables an individual to withdraw messages and meanings. Clothing can be interpreted as a unique language, the items someone wears speaking volumes about their individual character and personality, style as the languages varying idiolect. For example, people may claim to 'wear what they like' - however that mantra in itself,  by choosing the specific items, the individual has unconsciously chosen to present a quality about them selves, showing themselves in a certain light - communicating with strangers without having to physically communicate with them.Elizabeth Wilson, Professor of Cultural Studies at London College of Fashion conveys this idea with the quote; “In all societies the body is ‘dressed’ and everywhere dress and adornment play symbolic, communicative and aesthetic roles. Dress is always unspeakably meaningful.”

The meaning interpreted is of course respective of the individuals understanding, therefore difficult culturesand those with conflicting beliefs will have a varied understanding.  Fred David, author of ‘Fashion, Culture and Identity’ quotes:

“The chief difficulty of understanding fashion in its apparent vagaries is the lack of exact knowledge of the unconscious symbolisms attaching to forms, colours, textures, postures and other expressive elements in cultures. The difficulty is increased by the fact that some of the expressive elements tend to have quite different symbolic references in different areas.” This is an issue apparent in advertising, a brand will try and promote a product adhering to their specific ideology however, when promoting to varying markets this ideology can be miss constructed and construed. This may become particularly difficult in the future with the rise of the emerging economies such as the MINTs and BRICs. Unlike the majority of western cultures, they have polarised views of what is acceptable in terms of presentation of individuals in advertising and the exposure of skin. Brands will have to take this into consideration when they move to promote more heavily in these economies, regarding what way potential consumers will interpret the advertisement is essential to convey the right message and ensure the success of the brand.  

An example of how an advert can be read through the semiotic equation is the analysis of the Sisley advert.

Signifier

Initially , at first glance, the consumer can see two women snorting a white substance, assumably cocaine. Upon closer inspection, the white substance is a dress. One of the two women in the advert has only the whites of her eyes visible, presumably the effects of drug use. In support of the imagery is the tagline 'fashion junkie'. The women as fashion 'junkies' are getting their fix from Sisley clothing.

Signified

The message form the advert when encoded is that fashion is like a drug, so the brand should appeal to those who are addicted to fashion. The adverts use the technique of 'shockvertising', purposefully creating controversy in order to be memorable.

Fashion advertising is a strong form of communication, using codes that tap into the consumers unconscious and through the power of semiotics advertisers are able to convey the messages implicitly to connote the brands ideology.

POLITICS OF FASHION: FASHIONING YOU! WHY WE NEED DIVERSITY - MEN IN FASHION

The macaroni and the meterosexual male

In recent times,with the increasing success of social media, selfie culture and the shared self on social media where one develops an 'alter ego' online, there seems to be increasing pressure for everyone to look perfect. With camera phones, snap chat as communication and the fear of being tagged in a bad photo on Facebook we have become our own paparazzi. This pursuit of perfection has been seen for both males and females alike, with the rise of the male grooming routine become the norm and ever more intricate. As girls are seen to contour their faces, curl their hair and pursue the power brow - their male counterparts have had to up their game. The male beauty market has been booming, anti ageing creams, tinted moisturiser to the more extreme 'mascara' and 'guy liner' - with range of lotions and potions to help with the quest of perfection, the meterosexual male has arrived. 

It may appear that this well groomed, over styled male is something of the new times but really the image obsessed man has been a thing since the mid 18th century. The macaroni originated from England in the 1700's and was a 'fashionable fellow who dressed and even spoke in an outlandishly affected and epicene manner'. The macaroni man was presented as gender neutral; he was neither explicitly male or female, having a overtly feminine appearance and behavioural manner dressing int he times high fashion of extremely tall powdered white wigs with hats on top that could only be removed by the point of the sword. This fashion and eccentrically image obsessed male represented the first idea of metrosexuality.

The metrosexual male has been interpreted differently in the 21st century. Within uk popular culture, television shows such as Geordie Shore and The Only Way is Essex have branded a new type of image obsessed male, focusing on working out, fake tan and 'manscaping' no amount of grooming is deemed to extreme. The levels that some males go to to achieve these standards as they idolise the tango faced stars has seen some older generations interpreting their appearance opposite to the intended look. Due to the presentation of the macaroni as a well groomed yet 'gender neutral' male, the 21st century metrosexual can sometimes be perceived as homosexual do to the feminine nature of the sheer attention to detail in regards to personal appearance.

This can be a problem for fashion promoters as they want to present males in a fashionable manner but want to attract the right consumers for their product, or do not wish to push some audiences away from the product in the fear of appearing in a way that mean that they are interpreted in the manner of the macaroni man.

Fashionable males that have managed to find this balance between the adhering to high end trends, appearing groomed whilst clearly ticking the box of the metrosexual male are celebrities such as Tinie Tempah, Harry Styles and Pharrell. The suave and sophisticated appearance of these individuals is juxtaposed by a more street and rugged edge. The ultimate metro sexual male for the 21st century being David Beckham, his sculpted look with his lifestyle of family man, sports player an brand ambassador makes him the ultimate icon for a large proportion of fashion promoters- his work including H&M, Haig club whisky and Dolce and Gabbana.

The representation of male models physically has often been exaggerated by fashion and what is perceived as the ideal. Males are expected to appear overtly muscular and thin, this can be an issue as the frequent representation of males in this way can cause a distortion of what is the expected norm. Males are also normally expected to be well groomed and hairless, they are often infantilised by fashion.

POLITICS OF FASHION: FASHIONING YOU! WHY WE NEED DIVERSITY - AGE

When looking at advertising campaigns, the models used are prominently aesthetically similar - all thin and youthful. The majority of model  featured on the runway are between  the ages of 18-23 with some starting as young as 16.

However, in retaliation to the model norm there are some models that break the trends such as the reoccurring appearance of Naomi Campbell on the catwalks when she is over 40 and Carmen Dell'orefice  being 82 and walking for Valentino.

When older celebrities are used in fashion promotion, due to the reliance on photoshop in the industry to portray the pursuit of perfection, the images are heavily enhanced portraying to the audience an unrealistic ideal. For instance, Kate Winslet used in the Lancome adverts in 2011 - the adverts were heavily altered, removing any signs of ageing such as wrinkles and smoothing the skin to make her appear more youthful.

With fashion houses currently being so discriminating against natural signs of ageing, it can distort the idea of what the aesthetic of a women of a certain age is meant to look like. The manipulation of the presentation of females in the media has been questioned whether it is damaging to the consumer.