I love how the maid is "invisible", walking between gorgeous dressed-up models as if she's not even there, going about her duties. Always in the background, wearing a plain uniform and no make up, her hair cut short. The young women pay her no atteniton whatsoever.
What the models gathered around the room waiting for their fashion shoot to start did not realise was that the woman in a pale uniform, a cap and a white apron, used to be just like them. It wasn't too long ago that she, too, strutted the runway in impossibly high stilettos, wore ridiculously expensive and impractical designer outfits and had that expression of arrogant indifference permanently glued to her flawless face. Those days - and her once remarkable looks - were a distant memory, as she was now reduced to nothing more than a simple servant, who, out of pity, was kept around the set to take care of the new stars' every need - not to mention making sure that the room was spotless clean just in time for the shoot.
Needless to say, once the cameras started rolling, she was asked to move out of the picture as to not obscure the view. The world of high fashion wasn't her world anymore. She was allowed to stand in the corner and watch though; she remained there quietly, holding back tears, as the younger beauties took the spotlight.
You may notice that all the raven-haired beauties are all identical. It reminds me of that classic episode of the Twilight Zone, "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" where everyone is altered to look like a particular model when they reach adulthood. Lots of people end up choosing the same one as it becomes more popular than the others. Perhaps there is a basic version for the less fortunate, such as the one belonging to the maid, which obviously limits her upward mobility. What if one were to choose this "undesirable" on purpose?
ReplyDeleteThe only human in the world of clones is a maid?
DeleteI wouldn't say that they are the only human.
DeleteIn every idyllic utopia, there must still exist those who do the dirty work. In Brave New World, they solved that problem by making some groups of people less intelligent and ambitious.
Anyway, I suppose that in a world where everyone can be beautiful, choosing to be less than perfect would be an interesting choice.
Interesting you should mention "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", addisonhughes. I was reminded of the perhaps even more gruesome episode "Elegy" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734565/], in which astronauts think they have landed on Earth in some sort of spatial distortion where people are frozen in time, but in fact are on a cemetery asteroid where dead people are embalmed and posed like mannequins in their favorite activities. In that case, the maid could be interpreted as the caretaker, making sure the models are properly dusted and free of mildew.
DeleteI'm going to go against the consensus opinion here, but I don't think that the women portrayed in the images are all the same woman. Check out the following link:
Deletehttps://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2013-ready-to-wear/louis-vuitton/slideshow/collection
This links to a slide show of a Louis Vuitton runway show. The slide show consists of images of runway models all of whom have been made up to look exactly like the models in the advertising campaign. It is clear this is the case since the model in each slide of the slideshow is identified by name.
Louis Vuitton is a luxury marque which suggests to me that the inclusion of the maid was deliberate: It's what makes the images advertising for a luxury brand.
There are several interesting features of this advertising campaign. For example, in every one of the 5 images, there is a model sprawled diagonally across the lower left hand corner of the image. I'm not sure what to make of this.
Also, the models in the foreground all are clutching handbags, a Louis Vuitton specialty. I find it fascinating that every one commenting on this thread is focused in the maid rather than the handbags, which are clearly an important part of the advertising campaign.
Finally, what story do the images of the maid suggest? To me, the story would be about a supermodel whose age has reached the "use by" date, so she must abandon the supermodel game. However, she is loath to do this, so she now specializes in modeling maids together with all the humiliations this entails.
Good catch!
DeleteThe work of a model is considerably less glamorous when they are made to be completely interchangeable. They starve themselves to death for the opportunity to be mannequins that are tossed aside when they don't fit the standard anymore. That would be a nice reversal of the trope commonly found here, where the new maid ends up getting the better end of the swap.
Intersting view that the maid was a former model. I like the lazyness showing by the young arrogant lady's. To be exactly its just one lady in differnt outfits. Maybe the maid is her personal maid.
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism of the maid being very much in the background, lot of time out of focus adds to the lower status of the former model in her present role.
ReplyDeleteThey say a picture is worth a thousand words, no one could doubt the status quo here.
One must ask why the former model ended up in the role of maid, choice, need or forced?
Scenes some viewers may also like to see (as possibly later outtakes of photos captured from the above photo-shoot) could be for the maid to be seen in the immediate foreground, and in appropriately defined focus. The maid could be leaning in from the left or right side of the frame, and her facial expression would display a decided wink of an eye, and with possibly puckered red lips for a justifiable display of sauciness. ;)
ReplyDelete[Of course, this "permitted" episode would be chalked up to an event of inadequate scrutiny by the photo director, who "allowed" the saucy maid to sneak in during that moment of chutzpah -- for giggles... and for a drudgery respite, lol]. :D
Would seem the model and the maid are as one and the same person :)
ReplyDelete