With only two more months of winter left, many fashion houses, labels and stores are hard at work marketing their spring lines. In the case of New York department store Barney’s, they’ve decided to use their spring campaign to raise awareness of trans issues.
Barney’s recently launched Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters, a campaign featuring 17 trans models photographed with supportive family members. The website for the campaign even includes short stories from each of the models presented.
According to Time magazine, the store’s creative director, Dennis Freedman, said that it was important for the campaign to focus on trans inclusion: “[w]hile the lesbian, gay and bisexual community has made enormous strides in this country in this last five to ten years, it has always been glaring to me that the trans community has been left behind.”
Barney’s is taking the campaign a step further by pledging to donate 10 percent of sales from flagship stores to the National Center for Transgender Equality, as well as the LGBT Community Center, on Feb 11.
Considering how self-congratulatory the world of fashion can be at times, it’s nice to see people step outside of themselves and go, “You know what? Let’s actually do something to help others in need.” Using their podium to promote visibility for proud trans people is a step in the right direction.
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