In the age of the perky, perfect Victoria’s Secret model, women who look like Michelle Calderon and Casey Legler are virtually invisible in the fashion world.
But not anymore — denim brand Diesel has eschewed typical models in favour of Michelle, Casey and 18 other people of different shapes and sizes for its latest ad campaign.
The stars of the campaign all live in New York City, work in artistic fields and were discovered by Diesel’s new artistic director Nicola Formichetti on social networking Tumblr.
“I wanted to find people who reflected the diversity of the creative community today and not just the typical model,” Nicole told WWD.
“I wanted the campaign to showcase a variety of characters, people who are beautiful in their own unique way.”
The campaign’s stars include 22-year-old plus-sized, pink-haired graffiti artist Michelle, 15-year-old arts student Helen Primack and 23-year-old photographer Benjamin Ackermann.
Casey, a former Olympic swimmer who made headlines when she modelled male clothing, are appears.
“It was less about capturing fashion and more about getting an insight into these people’s souls,” Nicola said.
The images will appear in the September issue of the US edition of Vogue magazine.
