The trends are changing quickly in today’s world. Every aspect is different than it was a decade ago. However, there are some things which do remain the same no matter what is happening with the world…
Sex. It sells stuff. From things like lingerie to the toothpaste you use every day, advertisers and marketing agencies have been using sex to sell pretty much anything for as long as time can remember. Today, we stand in an era of female empowerment, where the everyday woman doesn’t necessarily want to exploit her body to sell an ice cream bar, but also, the average woman doesn’t want to see the size 0 model holding up an ice cream bar she can’t eat.
Source: Tamara Mellon
With the #MeToo Era, came body positivity. As women have been standing up for their rights to not be over sexualized by gazing men, women who are considered to be “plus-size” (size 8 and up) have simultaneously been promoting their bodies, saying enough of skinny-stick-bitches that are one in a million, and in with a real woman.
At the head of this new revolution of selling sex in this new time of body positivity is Ashley Graham, the plus size supermodel who has been working side by side with Swimsuits For All, a company offering swimsuits for women of all sizes. There is also Rihanna, who has created SAVAGE X FENTY, a lingerie product line for all types of woman. Young girls are always looking up to the Hollywood stars for fashion advice. They look up to the women with cut-out dresses that are incredibly tight- nearly cutting off their circulation and in some cases making them pass the F out. One of the most significant problems about this culture is that no one looks up to the fashion of plus sized girls because there’s no one willing to design for them.
Source: Washington Post
In comes Christian Siriano. Siriano started as a contestant on the famous reality show- Project Runway and eventually made it big. The way he made it big after his time ended on the show was inspiring. He found a niche in the market and made that his call sign. Hollywood women who are rejected by other top designers know to go to Siriano for stunning looks that will make them glow on the carpet. His revolution had such an impact on the Hollywood community that now even men are now catching the body-positive vibe. Billy Porter, a man known for his amazing singing and acting, made a statement at the Oscars this year by hosting in a Christian Siriano tuxedo ball gown. If women can wear pants to the Oscars and get commented on for being empowered, men can wear dresses and should get the same reaction. In an explanation to the public, he stated for Vogue: “My goal is to be a walking piece of political art every time I show up. To challenge expectations. What is masculinity? What does that mean? Women show up every day in pants, but the minute a man wears a dress, the seas part.”
Source: New York Daily News
Lastly, Cosmopolitan took a surprising turn this past year and featured Tess Holliday, a plus-size model known for preaching body positivity for years, on the cover of their October 2018 issue. Back in 2013, Tess was seen sharing her thoughts on body positivity on her Instagram hashtag- #effyourbeautystandards.
If you were still wondering, sex continues to sell. It sells in every form possible, in the unhealthy catalogs of Ralph Lauren and Express, to the body positive pages of Pose, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, and the runways of the NYFW.
