Fashion Brand Features Model With A Cochlear Implant For Its Earring Ad. The Message Of Inclusivity Is Loud And Clear
It was only recently that fashion brands began to realise that they had been unintentionally promoting unrealistic beauty by casting near perfect women to model their products. It took years for the brands to embrace diversity but they finally started casting models of different body shapes, sizes, colour and race. NGL, it felt nice to see models who looked more like us on the billboards and being free of the idea that we need to look a certain way. This representation was necessary. However, while we are gradually inching towards achieving inclusivity in beauty and fashion by seeing more people like us, there are a whole lot of communities still seriously underrepresented in fashion. Case in point, people with disabilities.
The British fashion brand ASOS tried to break the ceiling and featured a model who had a cochlear implant in her ear, for its earring ad. Natasha Ghouri is deaf by birth and uses a cochlear implant that partially restores hearing. She represented people like her for whom fashion is no different than any of us but don’t get the representation in the industry. It’s not always that we see a specially-abled person on the ad of a beauty or fashion brand, until and unless the product is especially designed for them. ASOS really made a strong case for inclusivity by casting Ghouri to model their earrings.
This shouldn’t surprise us but it’s sad that it does. Although the fashion industry doesn’t exclude people who can’t hear or see or walk from their target customer base, it’s strange why they never cast models with an impaired hearing or vision to model their products. This needs to change and other brands need to follow suit.
Also Read: Gucci Featured A Model With Down’s Syndrome In Its Latest Beauty Campaign And It Became The Most Liked Picture On Their Page
View this post on Instagram
People online are loving this cool ad, and more than the earrings, it’s the model who is getting all the attention. A user tweeted, “Definitely not crying because of @ASOS using an earring model with a hearing aid. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a model with a hearing impairment, let alone an earring model and its so refreshing to see this kind of representation for people like me.” It’s so important to represent diversity and promote inclusivity in fashion because there are no rules and boundation when it comes to style. Fashion is as diverse as the people and should be represented that way.
Natasha Ghouri was overwhelmed with all the reactions of people who could resonate with her. She shared some tweets on her Instagram and wrote, “MY HEART IS FULL RIGHT NOW! Thanks so much for all of your kind messages WOW. It may just be an ear but it means so much more – like what @rnid_uk said representation matters, and I’m bloody proud to represent my community. Biggest love to @asos for welcoming me in and breaking boundaries as this will really help and inspire people out there. Big shoutout to @mmodelsmanagement @xmrsmaddielx for just being amazing! Love you all.” Can all the other brands take a leaf out of ASOS’s books? We need better representation and inclusivity in real sense, not just the brands offering lip service for the sake of it.
