What Does It Mean To Have Soul?

April 24, 2017

What does it mean to have soul? Is soul in music? Is soul a lifestyle? Is soul objective? In fashion, soul is in Gucci’s new campaign ‘Soul Scene’. ‘Soul Scene’ is a far cry from Gucci’s previous creative campaigns and a statement on industry diversity. Featuring only African-American models and dancers, ‘Soul Scene’ is orchestrated to resemble a 1960s dance party. The campaign is unarguably lively and vibrant, but arguably fifty years out-of-date. While the campaign’s implications are to celebrate black soul, is it genuine? Gucci says the campaign is “an exploration of the flamboyance and self-expression of men and women who challenge the conventions of society through performance, art and dance”. ‘Soul Scene’ is all about the look. Glen Luchford, the photographer behind the illustrative imagery, found his inspiration for the shoot from the underground Northern Soul movement. Northern Soul took place in 1960s London and was an outlet for people to let loose to the sounds of funk, disco, and early hip-hop. Since Gucci posted the newest campaign on social media, fans have been applauding the iconic brand for their marketing diversion. For instance, The Model Alliance, a nonprofit labor group for models, expressed “through social media, the consumers are calling out racism in the industry, which is really powerful”. The campaign definitely has its critics, but the overall look is in the defiance of mainstream beauty standards.

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