Why pick an extremely young girl as an ad face?

[Street_a_Licious]

But do most forty year olds really aspire to be fifteen again?

probably not 15. but mid 20s! and seriously, the 15 year olds rarely look 15 or even like teens. they're artificially aged via makeup and lighting. the younger the girl, the older she can be styled without looking too old. simple.

 

[agee]

probably not 15. but mid 20s! and seriously, the 15 year olds rarely look 15 or even like teens. they're artificially aged via makeup and lighting. the younger the girl, the older she can be styled without looking too old. simple.

No it is not simple. I am well aware that models can be / are styled to look older and have commented on it in this very thread, however not every model can be styled and knows how to emote to project that image, take Karlie Kloss for example:
Hermes campaign - Karlie roughly looks her age which fits in with the fairytale theme, thumbs up;
Dior and Donna Karan campaigns - Karlie looks the part of a twenty-something young woman in both campaigns, thumbs up;
Oscar de la Renta campaign - Karlie's look and styling fits the blue outfit, but it does not fit the fur trim coat, neutral / thumbs down. Karlie is a good poser and emoter, but she could not be matured that much. In this case we are talking one picture, so I am not implying that the campaign was ruined, but a more sophisticated looking model would have pulled the look off better.

In recent seasons, Balenciaga seems to favor the awkward look, for the SS 2010 campaign (which I like quite a bit, graphically) apparently the folks over at Balenciaga thought that hunched shoulders and wide-eyed stares was appealing. Although Gisele has been cast for the upcoming campaign, so it appears that the Bambi trend is over.

This thread is about campaigns, but this really shows up in some runway shows with models between their awkward walks and scared facial expressions are not really selling the clothes.

 

[balmain1914]

I am not implying that the campaign was ruined, but a more sophisticated looking model would have pulled the look off better.

That's what I was thinking about when I saw Karlie on Oscar ads.
​

 

[scrubb]

Youth is so lucrative right now, with child celebrities... I guess that's why models are getting younger and younger as well.

 

[ched]

Youth is so lucrative right now, with child celebrities... I guess that's why models are getting younger and younger as well.

Selling unobtainium has always been profitable. People always want what they can't have. Many older people want a youthful image, so that is what gets sold.

 

[get fashion]

Dior and Dior Homme have tweens in his ads!
They think that young people will buy those expensive clothes???
I think the message is: If you are old, you are OVER.

 

[tigerrouge]

I think it's more that advertisers are hoping that young people are the section of society that will be most easily persuaded to continue to buy things they don't need on credit.

 

[fashionwriter]

Fashion Sells Fantasy

One of the things I used to love about fashion is that it represented an escape. Now, I feel this escape into fantasy is its detriment. Fashion is selling a fantasy and very young models are another example of that. Older clientele don't want to see themselves, they want an aspirational image. Youth=beauty in our culture so they're going to have younger and younger models peddling the goods. Just recently I have begun to see the danger in this image even in terms of body dysmorphia in women (and some men) and feelings of low self-worth when you don't match the impossible image in the magazine. The irony is that models often have the lowest self-esteem of all since they are judged so harshly on their appearance!

Hey all TFS members. We all have passion for Fashion, that is exact reason why we gather here. However, sometimes I am pretty confused by some casting decisions, esp in ad campaigns.

Who buy luxury goods? As I know most of customers are middle aged with a steady job position, and we also know that not every single girl (in reality) is Blair W. of GG. But Fashion labels seem to be so obsessed with picking up an extremely young face for its own seasonal campaigns. Can you imagine a 15-year-old head off to the Oscar/Hermes/YSL boutiques to buy her daily wear? Yes, some girls can afford it but they don't represent the major.

I do wanna question, does this young girl on the ad can truly represent the value of your label? Even they don't even have too much experience in life. To put all these high fashion stuffs on a teenage girl's body and ask her to pose as sexy, seductive and sophisticated as the way that stylist/photographer/designer want? I don't think that's an excellent choice.

 

[BerlinRocks]

one (perhaps) silly question :
why the thread about age and modelling in editorials (or is there any difference btw ad and editorials) is in Supporting Cast / Etc. ? and this one here in "Fashion ... in Depth" ... ?

 

[markese91]

To be honest there's alot I want to say but I'll try to say it all as succinctly as possible.

1.) Ya'll are going a little bit ham on my Karlie Kloss - partly joking and partly not lol
2.) I think that younger models are being cast because younger people are not as distinct. I really think that the phenomenon of this teenage bordering on preteen model arose when casting agencies started looking for the nameless faceless girls. I mean when you're older, you've come into your own distinct features. It's a little bit harder to confuse you with someone else. Because of your unique weathering, you have specific features that clue us in to who you are, younger models don't have this yet.
3.) Also about photoshop, although the industry does use it, and does so extensively, unless you're talking about a Louis Vuitton, they don't want to pick a model where they are forced to retouch. So, they want to pick a model where they have a good base(skin that bounces light well, no wrinkles) so if they do retouch, it's not because of her body and skin as much as, well we just don't like this arm, or we think she should have some wings.

I don't want to write a thesis but, I'll stop there... hopefully you guys will use another model as your example

 

[Squizree]

Are younger models not cheaper to hire as well? They have little modelling experience are basically too young/stupid to know what they're doing.

 

[Emma Naomi]

Are younger models not cheaper to hire as well? They have little modelling experience are basically too young/stupid to know what they're doing.

Plus the minimum wage is less for younger people. At least in the UK.

 

[markese91]

It's not in the US. Also I don't think models make.... a minimum wage fee. Like that doesn't apply.

 

[Drusilla_]

It depends on what you mean by "extremely young", honestly. If for argument's sake we take that as 15 years old and younger, it could be partly because younger, often inexperienced, models wouldn't have to be paid as much as their older counterparts. Besides, if a very young model has an exceptional level of skill in front of the camera, there's really no reason to deny them a campaign as long as the campaign in question doesn't involve shooting images that come across as, well, inappropriate (i.e. nothing overtly sexually suggestive, etc etc)

Of course, if the ad campaign is for a "younger" brand, like Topshop, this discussion is moot since the model would probably be right within the age range of the label's customers.

 

[iheartbags]

An idea raised about younger faces not having distinct features has got me thinking... maybe its that these young faces are interchangable. So campaigners can easily replace a 'face' with another if that 'face' is busy i.e with school commitments etc given their age

 

[j.cruz146]

This whole.. "Younger models look alike is crap.."

Anybody can differentiate between Karlie, Frida, Monika, Mirte and Nimue with a picture.

I agree with VullixEf.

Also, I don't really think that anybody who's into fashion as much as some of are and actually buy the stuff are going around saying, "I'm not going to buy that Dior purse because they have that 18-year-old girl in their campaign and I'm almost 60!".

I think they just use younger models seeing how they pretty much are younger and nobody will actually know the difference between say Monika in her Chanel cosmetics campaign because of how much older she actually looks in her pictures and the one that Isabeli had.

Nobody knows models now and days. Their pretty much what they are, faces that are often seen but rarely heard.

 

[ChrissyM]

Are younger models not cheaper to hire as well? They have little modelling experience are basically too young/stupid to know what they're doing.

i think younger, maybe unknown models, would definitely be cheaper than older established "big name" girls...

but, i don't think you can make the argument that the girls are too young/stupid to know what they're doing and that's what's getting them cast...
if they don't know what they're doing and lack experience in front of the camera then that certainly makes them harder to work with and more expensive in terms of production hours if the shoot drags on...
and it's not like they're getting tricked into accepting paltry sums of money and are getting taken advantage of...
all of these girls are managed by agencies, right?
shouldn't they be protecting their interests?

i personally don't get the appeal of hiring extremely young girls as ad faces...
especially if they look super young
i think valentino has done this a lot and i don't like it because it feels so discordant to look at the sophisticated clothing on these little girls.

if it's about making older women (those who have the means to buy the product) want to regain their youth, then couldn't they just as easily get that with a woman/model who is in her 20s?

 

[ched]

Did anyone point out yet that younger models are less threatening to predatory businesses? If you want to take advantage of someone, financially or otherwise, it's easier when they're inexperienced.

 

[aliki]

I believe that is happening for four reasons.
First, the fresh face. Especially a face u are not fed up seeing it!
Secondly, look at the teenagers nowadays. There aren't as we used to be. Their generation in general has the money to buy things because the previous generation, their parents, had worked a lot at a time that everything was increasing and mostly everyone could achieve something with hard work. And as every parent, they want their kids to have everything they need and want.
Thirdly, subconsciously every woman is attracted by something that makes her believe that she will look younger!
And last but not least a photographer, a advertiser, a designer e.t.c can conjure up ( if this is the right English word) a young model better.A girl at the age of 15 is like a canvas. You can transform her to anything.
On the other hand I believe that a teenage girl should live like a teenage girl...

 

[tanii94]

"Why pick an extremely young girl as an ad face?"

Because the fashion industry is slightly obsessed with youth.