Fetish + Violence = Art?

Barney’s New York Helmut Lang & A.L.C. window display has caused editorial frenzies among fashion bloggers and writers. I followed the coverage, tweeting:

Fashion Marketing Blogger

Earlier this year, I praised Bisazza’s fall advertising campaign (shot by Nobuyoshi Araki) that featured the skillful art of Japanese rope bondage. From Chanel to Valentino, fashion brands are taking their creative ques & inspirations from adult-oriented and fetish-inspired photography. The term “Fashion Porn” is taking on a new meaning as fashion brands have been pushing and testing the limits of artistic creativity in ad campaigns for over a year now.A commenter (Hannah) on Bust Magazine’s Blog caught my attention when she wrote, “It [The Barney's widow display] goes way beyond selling dresses. There’s a pattern in the fashion industry of using dead or tortured women to sell fashion and the scary thing is that it totally works as a marketing tool. The fact that this picture sells means that women and men look at these gory displays and think ‘Wow, that’s racy and chic’ instead of ‘wow, that’s messed up’.”Find out more about developments in fashion at FashionablyMarketing.Me.As fashion marketers, have we gone too far? Are we glorifying violence against women and increasing society’s tolerance towards what’s ‘normal’ instead of ‘disturbing’?Are we interested in cultural analysis or creating shock value in the name of art?

Chanel Shoe Advertising Campaign