Visual Culture Report
One of the most controversial spaces that comes to mind would be a clothing store by the name of Hollister. Hollister originated in California and catered to the surfing lifestyle. The women’s section is called “bettys” and the men’s section is called “dudes”. Their form of advertisement includes walking self-advertisement. Employees are only allowed to wear Hollister brand clothing in which the logo must be showing and have to be “naturally beautiful”. Hollister uses this tactic so the consumers can view their clothing in action on other people. They also use attractive models because the clothing looks good on them, if the clothing looks good buyers will want to purchase their brand. The more people they have wearing their brand, the better. There have been many occasions when Hollister uses half naked, live models, to stand outside the entrance and welcome customers. I can’t even fathom why someone would want to objectify his or her body to become a walking advertisement. Before you enter the store your senses awaken because the amount of perfume sprayed within the store itself. Every hour an employee must spray the clothing with Hollister brand perfume because this strategy supposedly makes the buyers more attracted to the brand. Some may argue that if the clothing they are about to purchase smells nice then they buyer will want to buy the perfume as well; creating more profit for Hollister. Throughout the store they have floor to ceiling pictures of half naked models creating this sexual persona in the photograph. They usually have a male and female model, with a “perfect” body intertwined with one another. The models are always tan, always muscular, and never have any imperfections. Hollister uses these models because they want their buyers to aspire to be like them. They create this awful message of, if you buy Hollister clothing, you will be buying attractiveness as well. The lighting in the store is absolutely horrendous. The lights are so dim, making it impossible to see what you are buying. If you think about it though, it is a rather good strategy. People try on the clothes in the dim lights and don’t realize what it actually looks like because they simply can’t see. The lights are not the only things problematic within the store. The music is turned up so loud that you can’t even think, let alone talk to anyone you are with. Every single one of your senses becomes overwhelmed while shopping in Hollister. Hollister does indeed create a surfer lifestyle