viz.

I don’t know what to make of these new ads for Marc Jacobs featuring Victoria Beckham. This New York Times article covering the ads asks “When is a Fashion Ad not a Fashion Ad?” And I’m not sure what the answer is. Jacobs has a history of using images that don’t feature his clothes but are touted as being “interesting” and “provocative.”

According the article’s interview with Jacobs’ photographer, Juergen Teller, he convinced Beckham to do the unusual ads by saying “‘You’re the most photographed woman in the world,’ ” Mr. Teller recalled. “ ‘And fashion nowadays is all about product — bags and shoes — and you’re kind of a product yourself, aren’t you?’ She was, like, ‘Uh, yeah.’ ” So, the ads play with the idea of the celebrity image as a product by actually putting Beckham into the shopping bag.

Jacobs and Teller are trying to move beyond ads that just make the clothes look pretty: “That is what they have attempted to do with Ms. Beckham, whose participation forces a different question than the banality of ‘Is she beautiful?’” However, just a quick sampling of the commentary on the ads in the blogosphere shows that people are focusing on criticism of how Beckham looks, rather than the intended artsy message. For example, there was much discussion and criticism of her bangs and pose in the ad below.