What if all the major fashion brands ditched supermodels and hired super women instead?

By Fusion Staff  |  February 3, 2015 | 1:27pm
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A few weeks ago, the ever-so-chic brand Céline made headlines for casting renowned author and badass human Joan Didion to model sunglasses in an ad campaign. It was a breath of fresh air, a shock, and, most importantly, a massive hit.

Seeing the ad for the first time you might have gone through this thought process: “No way! Joan Didion?! …Wait, that makes so much sense.” Didion embodies characteristics that every woman can admire, and fashion brands are always trying to be just that: Something to aspire to. She’s a damn cool person to want to dress like.

On the heels of Céline’s success, Karen Walker debuted a new and perhaps equally surprising campaign: a dog in sunglasses. It’s weird, hilarious, cute and now I know who Karen Walker is (I admit that before Toast the dog put them on, I was too uncool to know this brand existed)

Since the fashion world is ringing in 2015 in a risk-taking mood, I thought it would be a perfect moment to make some model casting suggestions — women who aren’t Gisele or Kendall. Season after season, we see the same group of models and celebrities posing for brands over and over, in a fashion Groundhog Day. The crazy idea of casting women who don’t fit the supermodel mold — yet are super heroes in real life — is actually not that crazy at all. Choosing these women wouldn’t be a risk, it would be a sure-fire hit.

And so, here are some dream castings for major fashion ad campaigns:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg for Chanel. Isn’t this so obvious?

Roxane Gay for Saint Laurent. (Can we be best friends?)

Laverne Cox for Versace. Makes so much damn sense.

Mo’Ne Davis for Céline. Nothing screams fashion more than throwing like a girl.

If Malala tells me to spend thousands of dollars on suitcases, I will. Because I believe in education.

Gloria Steinem for Chloé. I feel like this is a match made in ’70s style heaven.

Janet Mock for Calvin Klein, aka just perfection. (Original Janet Mock photograph by Danielle Levitt)

So, fashion hauses, we’ve pretty much done all the work for you. Now you just have to pick up the phone and call these super models.

Elisa is a designer & illustrator that writes (and doodles) about pop culture, women, diversity and all things art. She is the human behind Fusion’s Instagram account and Elvis Presley is her spirit animal.

 
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