American Apparel has constantly come under scrutiny for its overly sexualized ad campaigns and the photo series titled The American Apparel by Thomas Alleman, a photographer born in Detroit, Michigan, and based in Los Angeles, California, shows just how silly they really are. Captured in poor urban settings, the images of girls erotically contorting their bodies in skin-tight outfits are not just out of place, they are simply preposterous.
Although the brand didn't invent the idea that sex sells, The American Apparel by Thomas Alleman shows that it did popularize “pictures of gawky teenagers made by a cousin or uncle, on the sly, down in the basement with crude equipment,” as Alleman describes them. Interestingly, one of the issues that locals bring up to Alleman is allowability and oversight concerning the space being used.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Sensualizing Advertising
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore new ways to create visually appealing and engaging ads that don't rely on sexualization.
- Urban Landscape Photography
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop new approaches to capturing urban settings that challenge traditional aesthetics.
- Community-led Advertising Regulation
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create platforms or systems that empower local communities to have a say in the types of ads displayed in their neighborhoods.
Sectors Adopting This
- Advertising
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Reimagine advertising strategies and campaigns to appeal to a more diverse and socially conscious audience.
- Photography
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Experiment with unconventional photography techniques to capture unique perspectives of everyday scenes.
- Regulatory Compliance
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop technologies or systems to enhance transparency and collaboration in advertising regulation processes.
