Jimmy Choo released its cruise 18 campaign starring Cara Delevingne last month. Now, the internet is finally taking notice, though probably not in the way the brand intended. Titled “Shimmer in the Dark,” the ad shows Cara being catcalled by a bunch of male onlookers as she walks down a dimly lit New York street in the middle of night. One wolf whistler turns over his shoulder to comment, “Nice shoes, lady.”
The catcalling component might have gone unnoticed in a world less sensitive to the glamorizing of sexual harassment. But the ad comes on the heels, so to speak, of brave women — including Cara herself — coming forward with rape and harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, causing a national awakening to the pervasiveness of sexual harassment. Catcalling is not on par with cornering women in hotel rooms, but it’s symptomatic of a culture that allows real violence to be perpetrated.
According to Twitter, many women are experiencing a visceral reaction to watching Cara take street harassment in stride. “I lived in NYC in my 20s and when I watch it, it makes my stomach hurt,” tweeted one woman. The barrage of similar responses should be all the evidence we need that the ad is problematic — even if the men are “just complimenting her shoes.”