The Intimate Exposé of American Apparel

Society has tested and pushed the very own boundaries which it has set over hundreds of years. Though to a modern-day citizen, the sexuality and vulgarity one sees everyday is nothing but average for “whatever sells” and the personal preference of attire for every person. However, in the past decade, the amount of skin and provocativeness revealed within advertisements, the media, films, and television, has dramatically increased even past the standards of what is considered taboo. Thousands of examples of this reality are present in front of the human eye and keep the entertainment industry well prospering. Unfortunately, in this game of life, one side loses while the other wins.

            One example of the adulteration done to the body image of the public eye is the work presented by American Apparel. This infamous company receives much publicity for the sexual exposure depicted in their advertisements. The currently provided exemplar serves the context of a bodysuit campaign image. This work is comprehended of the design of their newly released bodysuit design as well as the visual pleasure of symmetry and flow of contrasting shades- black against a strong tone of white in a symmetrical design. For some, this overall experience of an image is a senatorial phenomena for it provides an unusual movement and is in realistic depiction. The meaning of this work is interpreted as the intimate pleasure and will inevitably attract viewers of more exposing works. Undeniably, the form of the work is unique and magnets the eye towards the image with its peculiar anonymity and seeming suspense.

Its presence suggests of our contemporary the evident bluntness with sexuality and the importance of visual appeal to many consumers worldwide. There is a minimal regard to religious morals in this work by American Apparel, for its openness with sexual and graphic display is not censored nor minimized to any level. Though the photographer chose to keep the model of the bodysuit anonymous, the sexual appeal that can be mentally applied to any type of figure or ethnicity of a consumer of the product. Meaning of the work is impactful with a true demonstration of the risqué attire that many individuals are willing to carry upon themselves through the approval of trend and consciousness of taste. This freedom of expression and visual concepts keeps the innovation of mankind booming forward, and regardless of the pity in the moral degradation, art is an objective language with no finite end.