Generation had underprivileged girls in their new campaign and people don’t like it
Generation has been known as quite a progressive clothing brand for as long as I can remember. Their campaigns based on raising social awareness and inclusivity have won them a large fanbase among the young people. Be it breast cancer awareness, hiring plus sized or dark skinned or older women as models, taking initiatives for an eco-friendly environment or just showcasing pure art through their campaigns, they’ve done it all.
The latest campaign is getting a lot of heat for what some people are calling classist imagery where Generation had underprivileged girls in their photo shoot
The shoot featured in the magazine Libas featured clothes by Generation.
The recent campaign for Generation with the underprivileged children has been shot in collaboration with an NGO
Generation shot their campaign at Alif Laila book bus society which claims to be Pakistan’s first children’s library.
One social media user pointed out how tone done deaf and classist the campaign appears with the girls being used as props for this photo shoot alongside a model
What purpose are these little girls in the picture serving and what message is it supposed to be conveying?
— Fatimah Faisal (@FatimahFSM) December 13, 2019
It's problematic using people in your clothing advertisements who can NEVER afford your clothing. If your clothes are not for them, then STOP PROFFITING FROM THEM.
— Fatimah Faisal (@FatimahFSM) December 13, 2019
People couldn’t stop agreeing with her
@GENERATION_PK
Climbing on the shoulders of those less privileged to qualify for their moral license https://t.co/U9K91tUq4z— پاہ شکور (@PahShakoor) December 13, 2019
Disgusting! https://t.co/NJQeF99tU6
— سارہ خلیلی (@SaraKhlili) December 13, 2019
So much true no matter how you look at it. Someone needed to say this https://t.co/MCLuzurua1
— Atif Mekan (@AtifMekan) December 14, 2019
Exploitation of underprivileged, that's it. Simply inhuman.
Look at their eyes? https://t.co/t3We6oy1CJ— Ajmal Jami (@ajmaljami) December 14, 2019
Some people even brought past campaigns to show that it’s a trend, that even though the brand seems to be talking about the better cause, their values don’t always translate into action
Each year generation comes up with an absurd promotional campaign. And each year people talk about it for mere criticism and end up promoting the brand. So we know whose winning here. https://t.co/tCEC7P3r4B
— Ushnaa Tayyab (@_roohdaar_) December 13, 2019
GENERATION AT IT AGAIN https://t.co/AXovYqbEbi
— Zoya Anwer (@ZoyaAnwerNaqvi) December 13, 2019
There was a clarification given about the campaign after the backlash
It was stated that the shoot was not actually by Generation and that it was misinformed backlash because the clothes by Generation were only borrowed for a shoot by an independent magazine.
This is NOT a shoot by @GENERATION_PK and this is not a campaign by @GENERATION_PK Please do not spread misinformation. This is a shoot done by a separate magazine that simply borrowed clothes from GENERATION. I hope you issue a revised tweet. Only fair. https://t.co/ISOHGp8Cpz
— Waqqas Mir (@wordoflaw) December 14, 2019
In the past Generation has received a lot of praise for giving visibility to women who weren’t conventionally “model-like”. The clothing brand has received love from the audience for giving visibility to plus sized models, older models and even disabled models in their campaigns.
Generation isn’t the first brand to have been accused of such tone deafness
Brands like Sana Safinaz and Zara Shahjahan have been called out for their campaigns reeking of privilege or classism. The designer for popular high end brand Elan, Khadija Shah, was also recently at the receiving end of quite the backlash, for saying that her clothing line which cost upwards of Rs. 15,000/- is “affordable”.
Designer wear, particularly high end labels are expensive. They cater to a market which is beyond the range of many ordinary folks. Using the underprivileged as props for their campaigns or making claims of inclusivity in regards to affordability is wrong and offensive. It’s okay if you’re expensive and for people who can shill out that kind of money, just don’t pretend to be awaami.
This is one of the rare missteps from a brand as beloved for its inclusivity as Generation but this does raise concerns about the values that the brand propagates. Is Generation’s claim of being inclusive and “woke” just for the likes and shares?
Cover image via: libasnow.com