Here, Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian and Style Memo newsletter writer Shane O’Neill discuss the ad campaign and why it’s broken the internet.
Rachel Tashjian: It’s hard not to read everything in pop culture as a referendum on what America means these days, huh? And marketers (especially in fashion) seem acutely aware of that, as this campaign proves.
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Let’s start by describing what exactly we’re looking at here: all-American actress Sydney Sweeney in a pair of slouchy, slightly wide-leg jeans, posing in a series of provocative images and videos as a man declares “SYDNEY SWEENEY HAS GOOD JEANS,” for the mall brand American Eagle. And the proceeds from the jeans — $89.99 — all go to a domestic violence help line. Did I miss anything?
Shane O’Neill: Well, the imagery is pretty scattershot, and so is the messaging. We have Sydney Sweeney looking kinda femme and kinda butch. We have her “auditioning” for the commercial and also holding a camcorder, recording herself.
RT: There’s a narrative in these images of that small-town gal moving to the big city, hoping to become a star. I found the audition video really strange — Sweeney is a mega-actress and superbly talented, and she seems very confident and savvy about how she chooses roles. To see her in that uncomfortable setting — where a guy off-camera is asking to see her hands?! — is unsettling.
