Camille Paglia once said “Capitalism is an art form, an Apollonian fabrication to rival nature...” (1) Her striking words befit Valentino’s 1995 vogue advertisement perfectly. It seems no two words (capitalism and apollonian) could combine together better to describe this image. The model is statuesque, poised, and serene. The advertisement captivates its audience by inviting it to buy into the idea of the Valentino woman and everything this role entails. If we desire to become this woman what is our role in society and how does a medium such as a magazine manage to create this appealing world? In today’s capitalist society it seems everything is trying to sell you a hyper reality, a brief moment in which you can become something else or live vicariously through somebody else. And yet while we want it we don’t think about how it is created. The advertisement is no fluke; millions of dollars are spent to achieve the perfect model, clothing, light, even the placement of the logo. Finally by analyzing this image it is not only the composition of the advertisement, but the impact it has on its readers. It is this incredible insight into the societal roles, class, and insecurities that sell this brand to the everyday consumer; and in return this brand sells the audience an identity.

Media has become a vital tool for companies because of its incredible ability to persuade its audience. The various components of the advertisement play on what Aristotle coined as the three main tools of persuasion “ethos- our perception of something (do we respect it ect...), pathos-our emotional connection to something despite its intangible state, and logos- our logical inductions and deductions in reasoning” (2). The advertisement is striking and complex because it disregards typical gender roles and would possibly earn a level of both intrigue and respect from a female audience. Not only is the woman the focal point as she is looking out to the audience but she physically is positioned above the man giving her a position of superiority, again this is contrary to gender roles. While the man is the powerful base supporting the thin and elegant woman, it is she that draws the eye and it is clearly she who is in control. While women are more commonly portrayed as the objects of sexual desire the Valentino woman is dressed in a conservative yet elegant black dress while her man, stark naked beneath her, has his eyes closed silent adoration. This overt contradiction to what is widely accepted in today’s society sets Valentino apart in a conformist market.

It is the impact of the illustration that holds power. While all individuals may not read into its implications the same way the implicit connotations made by a photo are the difference between a selling your consumer an article of clothing and selling an identity. The model’s pose tells us that the Valentino woman is poised, regal and elegant. These attributes also validate her beauty as while she is conservatively dressed she is still attractive and well kept. Her position over the male gives her a position of power over her femininity and self determinacy in a patriarchal world. By explicitly placing the logo of the brand by the models face coincidentally the focal point of the picture, the advertisement implicitly states that this isn’t just any woman it is the Valentino woman: but more importantly it could be you.

The Valentino woman maybe expanding the horizons of women’s equality but she doesn’t change the current inequality among women. This is evident in the class portrayed in the photograph. First we look at the fact that it isn’t any culture being represented it is a Caucasian woman: immediately contributing to what is commonly referred to as “white privilege” while it may seem insignificant as there is only one woman in the advertisement it is the consistency and dominance of overly represented ‘majorities’ and underrepresented ‘minorities’ that set the status quo and leave little room for diversification. Secondly the pedestal she stands on is not only significant in her relative position to the man but also to the average woman. Valentino is not a department store brand; its haute couture style comes with a similar price tag. This extravagance shines almost seamlessly through the image. Her dress is admittedly conservative and simple a black sheath almost and yet further analysis depicts her elbow length black gloves something you would wear to the opera or ballet classed events and certainly not everyday wear. Her hair is elegantly sleeked back but her dramatic hair tie is not suitable for the ordain tasks of a working woman. The intertextuality of the photograph also extends to iconic figures like Audrey Hepburn; and while contemporary beauty values tan, toned scantily clad women the apollonian theme in the advertisement extends itself to esteem this woman as upper class for her fair skin, and regal stance as was done historically.

As a society we refer to reality as the life most people face daily: as a postmodernist thinker Jean Baudrillard argues “the post modern world is also characterized by simulations to the extent that it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the real and those things that simulate the real“. In this he argues that “the dissolution of [media] into life, the dissolution of life into [media]” Baudrillard further states that while media may have once served as a mirror of reality it ceases to do so in the present. Rather we have become so absorbed into this illusion we have live in what Baudrillard coined as “hyper reality”(pg 22). This means we are consistently being overloaded with inaccurate images and ideas of who we should be, how we should live and what we should look like. These over-sexualized, unrealistic ideas of body and happiness manage to not only play on existing insecurities but also create new ones. Deciphering our image we can pick out the hyper reality despite its simplicity. Most obviously is the body of the naked man again going back to the apollonian idea of how Greek gods were built this handsome and built man is advertised to both men and women. He is what women should want and what men should look like despite the fact that most men are not that handsome, perfectly groomed, or sculpted. Secondly most women are not that thin, made up, or beautiful. The most common theme throughout the advertisement and other advertisements though is the idea that you will not be happy in your own life because you are unattractive, lower class, and under kept. However you have a chance of perceived happiness if you buy into this idea of a perfected and desirable lifestyle which is inevitably a mass consumer lifestyle.

In conclusion, by playing into the insecurities and need for acceptance of the general population, advertisements and media are manipulated in order to peak the interest and desire of society. A seamless composition is able to have a considerable impact on its audience who overlooks the attack on themselves and seek comfort and adulation in the promised goods. Despite originality many advertisements play on intertextuality, which adds the deep rooted ideas of beauty and normalizes this judgment. However while insecurities and ideals of beauty target everyone equally they sometimes also imply classist and racist connotations that become accepted and normalized in contemporary media and because of our hyper reality in turn become a socially accepted norm.