H&M Close the Loop video is an advertisement for the clothing company’s sustainable fashion through recycling clothes campaign. The ad features a diverse representation of models that are different sizes, ages, genders, sexualities, religions, races, ethnicities, varying degrees of able-bodiedness, and people wearing and presenting their hair – including under arm hair, beards, and head hair – in different styles. The ad features a voice-over saying commonly stated and sometimes contradictory fashion rules and advice while images of diverse, fashionable people in various settings challenge assumptions about these rules. The ad closes with text urging people to leave unwanted garments in any H&M store so that the company can reuse or recycle them into new clothes.

discussion

How is fashion and style represented in this ad, and how does it differ from other fashion advertisements you’ve seen? What kinds of people do you see that you normally don’t see in advertisements? How are they portrayed, and in what spaces, wearing and doing what?

What are some of the statements about fashion and style that the voice is stating as you see the various images of the models? How do these statements correspond to the people you see? What messages are being sent with this juxtaposition?

How does H&M use the text at the end the video to connect to environmentalism and water conservation? Does the ad say anything else about the sustainability and ethicalness of its clothing manufacturing or labor practices? What feelings and associations does this ad want consumers to buy?