The #CastMeMarc campaign is actually not that iconic

Images via Style.com

By now the world has caught a glimpse of the latest Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign, whereby Katie Grand and Marc Jacobs himself trawled Instagram for models using the hashtag #CastMeMarc.

Inevitably, the response reached an overwhelming 70,000 and beyond and from that 9 have become the new faces of Marc by Marc Jacobs, a brand that cultivates luxury streetwear (I really hate coining wanky terms like that, but in essence, that's what a $350 sweatshirt is). 

Talking to WWD, Jacobs reportedly spoke about his motives for kicking models to the curb in favour of Instagram's untapped crop: 

“It seemed like a great idea to me, as casting through Instagram seemed cool, current, and strong,” Jacobs said. “We wanted the ads to shout with youth and energy…to be fresh and reclaim the spirit that the collection had when we first conceived it — to be another collection, not a second line.” (via Style.com)

Marc Jacobs is someone obsessed with popular culture and the chokehold it has over society as a collective. In the digital age, social media is everything and apps like Instagram make this all the more transparent. For me, Instagram is a very explicit means of visual communication and it talks a lot about identity, legitimate or otherwise; it speaks of narcissism and insecurity in equal measure; it screams of self-publication and self-censorship. 

This is what is what makes the idea of the #CastMeMarc campaign so interesting, with infinite potential to encapsulate the here and now, before it's been and gone. Truth be told, I do love this campaign in part. It is strong, it is rambunctious and it represents the sorts of conjured personas you might happen to stumble across on Instagram. 

However, when I read Marc's interview with WWD further, one line struck me with a certain sense of poignancy; talking of his hand picked models, he described them as "a cast of colourful and dynamic characters". 

I had to stop and ask the question: "Really?" 

The campaign, regardless of all of its merits, features one Asian female and one black male. Reflective of the entire fashion industry, it is dominated by white models. It occurred to me that it doesn't matter to designers whether or not they're booking models from agencies or scrolling through Instagram for fresh faces, the same attitudes towards race and representation that remain rife throughout the industry are still apparent.

Suddenly the campaign I had been so excited about began to dull a little. Speaking as a white woman about these issues in the industry is kind of tentative but nonetheless, they need to be talked about. I'm not alone when I say that although I am irrevocably passionate about pursuing my career in fashion journalism, I am always discouraged about stepping further when questions of ethics come into play. Fashion has the ability to refute normative social values about race, gender, class, structural violence - need I go on? 

Designers like Alexander McQueen have done so in the past. One of McQueen's first collections is seared into the minds of fashion critics forever as one of the most shocking and disturbing collections ever shown. Highland Rape featured models who were sent down the runway looking battered and bruised, with torn clothing exposing their breasts. Although the collection is said to have been a reflection of England's dominance over Scotland, it began to generate discussion about misogyny and the subordination of women - conversations that are incredibly important to keep circulating and building upon. 

Alexander McQueen's AW 1995 collection: Highland Rape (via Wordpress)

Comparatively, it's what makes the #CastMeMarc campaign a little lacklustre. Granted, it will draw attention to the brand and Marc by Marc Jacobs will probably continue to grow into one of the most revered diffusion lines in the world, but retrospectively, it fell short of the mark in challenging some of the really tiresome attitudes in the industry. I've posted before about the how women of colour are extremely underrepresented on the runway and in campaigns, but it doesn't end there. What about the representation of transgender women? Of disabled women? It's time for the industry to stop being so exclusive.