Original Image: Advertisement for handbag designed by Yasu
Michino
Photograph by Getty Images
Magazine: The Wall Street Journal Magazine
March 2016
Women’s Style
pg. 90
The original image depicts a leather handbag nestled between
large tropical looking tree leaves. The accompanying text describes the
inspiration for the bag design: the designer’s bags are “made with water snake,
calfskin, and goatskin [which] often links with an aspirational location.” The
blurb ends with the quote, “My bags have to make people dream.” The image, and
the description were disturbing to me because they disregard the truth that the
animals used to produce the bags were once alive and belittle these animals to
having the sole function of providing a pleasing aesthetic.
In my remix, I decided to recreate the handbag, but fill it
with the animals whose skin was used to create the original. Next, I added in
hands grabbing at the bag in the place of the tree trunk. In the original
image, both the animals, as well as the human consumers were omitted from the
ad; by inserting the hands, my hopes are that consumers who may have considered
purchasing the handbag could now see themselves reflected in the hands, and see
exactly what they are reaching for.
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