Last week, the clothing company Aerie announced on Twitter its new “Aerie Real” campaign. The company is taking a big step and ditching retouching for good in its marketing and advertising. Aerie is challenging the stereotypical idea of beauty and presents consumers with an empowering reality of a realistic and healthy body image.
Aerie posted a picture on its Instagram page further explaining the purpose behind this new campaign:
“Dear Aerie girls,
We think it’s time for a change. We think it’s time to GET REAL and THINK REAL. We want every girl to feel good about who they are and what they look like, inside and out. This means: NO MORE RETOUCHING OUR GIRLS AND NO MORE SUPERMODELS. Why? Because there is no reason to retouch beauty. We think THE REAL YOU IS SEXY.”
The advertisements feature beautiful, healthy models and retain flaws that would generally be edited out in most fashion advertisements like beauty marks, tattoos, blemishes and stretch marks.
The Aerie website is also taking steps to promote a healthy body image. For example, girls who visit the website can view each bra frame on a model with their size. So, an “A” cup girl can view a bra on a model with her cup size, and the same is true for the “DD” size as well. Considering that many women are starting to shop online, using women who better match their body type allows consumers to see what the product would actually look like on them.
Aerie is also encouraging its followers to get involved with the campaign. By posting a picture on Instagram or Twitter with #AerieReal, the company offers their fans a chance to be featured on the Aerie website, effectively becoming models for the clothing and the cause themselves. Thousands of participants can be seen already, with pictures of girls supporting the campaign sans makeup, filters or duck faces, showing people that true beauty can exist without a filter.
The campaign’s reach is not limited to the online sphere, however. The retail stores themselves are also accented with positive messages for those who are shopping in person. For instance, the mirrors in the store’s dressing rooms all have a decal proclaiming that “The girl in this mirror has not been retouched. The real you is sexy.” The shopping bags all have a message to the same effect printed on them. This small gesture can really do a lot to ease the tension that often comes with trying on bras and underwear.
Many other Aerie employees, fans and magazines chimed in to show their appreciation and agree that this campaign is a step in the right direction.
Freshman and journalism major Nikee Reed hopes other clothing companies will continue this trend of promoting all body images.
“I personally think it’s a great start, but there’s so many more beauty standards that need to be broken,” Reed said. “I think if people see what the models really look like, they’ll be more likely to accept the fact that no matter what body size you are, everyone has their flaws.”
In a recent interview with Elle magazine, 28-year-old Aerie Real model, Amber Tolliver said, “To recreate a human being using a computer process is a bit of an attack on who you naturally are. Like, if I’m not good enough or if I’m not beautiful enough, then why’d you book me?”
In the past, Tolliver has been retouched in ads. She has seen her ribcage cut out, her neck lengthened and her hair filled in all because it was not perfect enough by unfair and unhealthy standards set by the fashion industry.
Aerie’s decision to stop using Photoshop on its models comes after some other attempts to promote a more realistic and healthy body image. In 2011, a study released by Dove revealed that only four percent of women around the world consider themselves to be beautiful. Dove started using real women, outside the realm of the typical idea of beauty in their campaign in 2004. In addition, Pantene made waves last year with their “Labels against women” campaign, which also aimed to devalue hurtful categorical labels and fight sexism.
Dove has since then released many short videos in attempts to transform society’s view of beauty: In 2005 regarding beauty only being in women who are stick thin; in 2007 about aging women embracing their beauty; and in 2014 a video encouraging girls and their mothers to embrace their true beauty by taking selfies without filters. Hopefully in the future we can expect to see many brands following the initiative Dove and Aerie have started.
Brianna Kwasnik can be reached at brianna.kwasnik@spartans.ut.edu