Face Value: Subversive Beauty Ideals in Contemporary Fashion Marketing

Through five cases from high-end fashion brands, this article explores the use of models in contemporary fashion marketing. The models represent subversive beauty ideals, and the aim of the analysis is to determine whether these ‘faces’ are intended to challenge stereotypes concerning age, gender, body and sexuality or whether they are examples of marketing absorbing consumer behaviour to appeal to contemporary consumers. The research is based on fashion campaigns and runway shows in mainly luxury fashion brands in the Euro-American market in the period 2009–2012. The article concludes that while greater diversity may be a positive side effect of the use of subversive beauty ideals the stereotypes are also the prerequisite for the social strategy at play. This strategy deals with the Logic of Wrong where social distinction is created through literally doing something that is considered socially or culturally wrong.