I am so excited to share a bit more about an amazing project I was a part of with Dove, Project #ShowUs. Growing up, I was always obsessed with fashion, poring over magazines for hours, never questioning the realities of the photo-shopped models I was seeing or the damaging stereotypes this was perpetuating. For a long time, I thought I was the one who was wrong, that I needed to change to be more like the models I saw in magazines, and never thought that I might be OK just the way I was, because everything was telling me otherwise.
It wasn’t until I got older, and into the fashion industry that I realized that this was not OK. All around me I was seeing beauty in the world, yet this range of beauty was not being reflected in the industry I was a part of. That is why I made it my mission to use models of all different sizes, backgrounds, orientations, abilities and as many beautiful, interesting people as I could.
When I was approached by Dove to be a part of their latest global initiative Project #ShowUs, that they are doing in partnership with Getty Images and girlgaze, I was extremely excited. 70% of women still don’t feel represented in media & advertising, so Dove created the word’s largest stock photo library to shatter beauty stereotypes. It’s over 5000 images created by women and non binary individuals, with photos representing every type of woman, and non binary person. It is inclusive, and shattering these damaging beauty stereotypes using real diversity, real scenarios, and no digital retouching.
I recently got to attend the launch of project ShowUs in New York and it was such an incredible time! I am so happy to partner with such a progressive brand, and be a part of such an amazing movement. I created this collage using images from the project and what I think it stands for. Also, please enjoy some photos of the trip and the amazing women I got to spend the time with! If you'd like to learn more, make sure to head over to www.Dove.ca/ShowUs.
xo Hayley
