"Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters" seeks to bring trans awareness to the mainstream.
Fashion is usually being called out by activists for using models that are too skinny and not racially diverse enough. But luxury retailer Barneys New York is far more enlightened than to just use a bunch of skinny white girls in its latest campaign. As part of their initiative to raise trans awareness, the store will feature 17 trans models and their families in their spring campaign titled "Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters." The series, shot by famous Abercrombie photographer Bruce Weber, will feature models dressed in Balenciaga, Derek Lam, and Yves Saint Laurent and all the other brands from the landmark store that most of us can't afford. The advertisements will run in The New York Times and Vanity Fair and a film about the models will appear on the store's blog, where you can also view their photos and read their stories.
As actress Laverne Cox of Orange Is The New Black noted in her recent interview with Katie Couric, "The preoccupation with transition and surgery objectifies trans people. And then we don’t get to really deal with the real lived experiences." Through this campaign, Barney's hopes to illuminate lives of trans people and show that at the end of the day, we're all just human beings. Human beings wearing ridiculously priced, cutting edge fashion maybe. But human beings nonetheless.
[h/t The New York Times]
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