Written and photographed by Chris Pieneman
Clothing supplied and styled by Emma Barrette and Alex Backa: Purple Hippo Vintage
Makeup and hairstyling by Maureen Posadas
The 1960's were a time of great change in western society but also a time during which many standards formed that still endure today more than 50 years later. Of course I'm speaking of standards that have bearing on body image.
During this time, media now had the opportunity to reach everyone and influence purchasing habits across vast areas through the growing audiences who would see advertisements. Photographs were starting to replace a predominantly drawing-oriented advertisement landscape in print media, and televisions also became more ubiquitous.
The producers at the time had no knowledge however of the long-lasting effects on body image that their casting choices would have. Little did they know that with each model they photographed and put into their advertisements they would be setting events in motion to continue a similar hiring trend for another half-century. I need not explain more than asking you what you might expect to see if you did a search for "1965 fashion ad".
Imagine, what those 1960s ads might have looked like if the producers at the time knew that their photographs would be playing into, in a formative manner , the body image of women for generations to come.
I imagine the photographs might look a little different.
... In fact I created my own.
