(Photos from Instgram)
On an ordinary day, for a girl that suffers from Anorexia, a banana is a huge meal. Aside from being followed by feelings of guilt and body hatred, there is also the image of being overweight, and the need to continue her self-starvation.
To help fight back the phenomenon, Aya Afify, a young Egyptian designer, decided to take a break from her usual posts and start a major social-media campaign.
In a regular room with dim lighting, several known faces were photographed by the renowned Photo Boutique to raise awareness against anorexia.
Though Afify is a promising clothes designer who is always keen on creating new cuts and silhouettes, this time she is aiming to introduce a new concept that supports all kinds of beauty.
Afify strategically chose diverse faces to represent her idea best. The campaign cleverly targets women of all ages and shapes. Just like the slogan, “You Are Beautiful”, the campaign is similarly simple and to-the-point.
Photo Boutique, which is currently on of the most famous photography agencies in Egypt, is Afify’s main partner in this project. The ladies behind Photo Boutique made sure to let each ambassador shine in her own way, to stress on their individual beauty, unlike normal shoots where models are directed to pose in a certain way.
The faces of the untraditional campaign included Hend Seif El-Dien, Flair magazine’s editor-in-chief, the Ameer sisters who run their own blog called “Fashion Outcasts”, the prominent fashion representative, Radwa El-Ziki and the founder of Egypt’s newest online platform, Slickr, Maria Muñoz.
Muñoz is a model and an online entrepreneur. Yet despite her job, she is against the radical standards, and she joined the group to fight anorexia and make all women feel included.
“I wanted to join the campaign to expand the concept of beauty,” she said. “Slickr mainly says that fashion is for everybody, and this campaign surely proves the same thing.”
(Photos from Instgram)
On the other hand, the “Fashion Outcasts”, sisters Pakinam and Nermine Amer, proudly declare that they never let any so-called fashion rules define them. Through their relatively new blog, they demonstrate their love for their natural bodies, while encouraging all women to follow their lead and stop obsessing about their figures.
With their un-photoshopped selfies and their captions that show their self-acceptance and their love for food, the Amer sisters insist on delivering the message that any lady can still be fashionable and pretty, even if she isn’t a size zero.
The campaign’s main channel is Instagram, currently the most active social medium amongst Egypt’s the fashion crowd.
The posts effortlessly distinguish themselves from all the colourful and photo-shopped pictures. Each ambassador was asked to pose and talk naturally, which shows in all of the pictures and the upcoming videos as well.
Even though it is a fashion project, the main subject is society. Therefore, the ambassadors toned down their usual styles and went for comfortable and wearable looks in order to get all women to relate to the campaign.
With a simple outfit, every woman can feel represented in this campaign.
Along with the pictures, Afifi picked several quotes that support the cause. Marilyn Monroe, who would have been a perfect match for this campaign, is present with her famous quote regarding society’s take on beauty.
Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that highly influences the physical health of the patient. People who suffer from it tend to have unreasonable eating habits that include very small portions of food.
Fashion designers and models are usually blamed for the growing number of patients as they promote unrealistic standards. Nonetheless, many fashion figures have been fighting the illness.
Cindy Crawford, a former supermodel, published un-retouched photos of herself to prove that she still considers her body perfectly beautiful.
Meanwhile, this year, New York Fashion Week celebrated the very first model with Down’s Syndrome in the history of the event and the American fashion industry.
