Alexis: I am excited to relaunch the brand with my first ad campaign since I left in 2015. In my years of advertising, I was always intrigued to use advertising as a way to create conversation on social issues. Tackling issues like Ageism, Diversity and Trans rights.
In my life, it is clear to me that what I find the most powerful in an ad is showing reality. Not a retouched image or constantly showing a 18 year old model who possibly reconstructed her body and face to become a model. What's more powerful for me is showing a person and flipping the narrative on what we hold valuable. Not just focus on what someone looks like but who they are, what they overcame in their life, whether it's trauma, life events, addiction or personal insecurities and understand how they overcame it and thrived. Creating a space where people can be seen in their reality, and as a result, conversations start from just seeing a picture.
Life is too layered and complicated to constantly be held to a fictitious image of what we should look like. Reality is pretty spectacular and way more inspirational even though it can be difficult.
I wanted to highlight 3 people who each overcame, thrive, and own their bodies.
Meet Ericka Hart, Sylke Golding and Kiara Marshall.
The photos were shot by Amber Pinkerton. It was her first campaign shot in NYC. I was struck by her sense of composition and sense of color and light. We wanted to have a woman shoot these portraits of women who can bring the sensitivity to the topics we were discussing. It's actually difficult to find female photographers in the roster of photographers at agencies, but even rarer to find a woman of color. I couldn't be happier with the results of the photos.
Ericka
Regal..would be the word. I have huge respect for Ericka, the freedom and willingness to show people who have had a mastectomy that they are gorgeous the way they are even if they opt not to get reconstructive surgery. Ericka is a revolutionary activist...that is all I have to say on that..nuff said.
