Can I Get That in Ugly?

Fashion is marketing. That’s what I think every time I see a campaign. Some beautiful girl in some beautiful scenario photographed by someone brilliant, and the clothes are just sitting there, barely noticeable under all the styling and lighting and story they’re telling. The clothes aren’t the product. The image is the product.

A supermodel can wear anything and look cool. A gas station shirt, a ridiculous turtleneck, whatever—she’s still cool. That’s the whole point of it. But that’s two percent of people, maybe less. For everyone else there’s no magic in it. Put that same shirt on a regular person and it dies somehow.

This is what gets me. Is fashion real, or am I just fooling myself? Is it about the actual clothes, or just about selling you a dream? Because from the pictures you can’t tell. You see a beautiful outfit and a beautiful person, and they work together, but which one is doing the actual work?

I’d want to see a real test. Take one outfit—a basic shirt, jeans, shoes. Shoot it on a supermodel in perfect lighting. Then shoot it exactly the same way on an ugly person. Someone overweight. Someone with bad skin. Someone who doesn’t work as a model. Same photographer, same setup, same everything. Then you could actually know if the clothes are good or if it’s all just the person in them.