more like "generations of bland white elitism"I know I like to dig deep for evidence of racism sometimes, but I clicked the link that that image was once attached to, hoping that the Brooks Brothers's people would have some models who weren't white. Why? It might help illustrate that while they may possess the "style" of generations long since passed, they don't possess the same mindset. And as the "oldest surviving men's clothier in the United States [founded in 1818]*" you'd expect or at least hope for some change.
And they've delivered ... sort of. In that post-Obama binary kind of way that says "We may be old and uptight, but we're chummy with a sprinkling of black folk here and there!"
And when I say a sprinkling I really mean three black folks exactly:
So is this a step up or step down from brooks brothers in 2003 (courtesy of the WayBack Machine), when they were just using all the same canvas dummies instead of people? I'm really not sure. Still I am perplexed by how the inclusion of real models changes the entire message or branding of the product and at how there are many, many various caucasian models throughout the site. There is but one non-caucasian model per section (men, women, boys) and all three of those models are black. This goes for the print ads as well, and you have to wonder what they were after (I even checked Brooks Brothers Japan and its the same). I get the general idea of a target audience but when it comes to fashion and clothes I don't believe that there is such a thing. You want your clothes to sell. So don't limit your audience! And for God's sake don't think that you can mask your bias or "target" by chucking in some black people! I don't think that in the history of advertising, a skirt didn't sell because an Asian lady wore it in the catalog.The same binary-type inclusion of black models as the only spare twinkle of minority presence is all over catalog and ad campaigns. Cases-in-point: abercrombie, target, american eagle.
I could go on but I'm lazy. Clearly, I'm not mad when I see black models get work but we could have more of this (Nordstroms) or this. I just dont think that effing GreatGlam of all places should outshine these people when it comes to projected diversity. But then again sluttiness and objectification is somewhat universal.
*thanks wikipedia!
