Her
name is
Armine Harutyunyan
, she was born in Armenia, she is 23 and is a non-professional model.
On her Instagram profile, where she has 130,000 followers, she is portrayed in poses of everyday life, in her travels in various Italian cities, sometimes with particular poses and dresses from which her artistic vein emerges.
She is an illustrator, but she ended up in the crosshairs of social media for her appearance.
Chosen by
Gucci
for the September 2019 fashion show in
Milan
for the spring / summer 2020 collection, she
is now a victim of body shaming
because her face does not correspond to traditional beauty standards.
Hooked nose, thick eyebrows, oval face, she was the subject of insults also in the wake of a news, not actually confirmed by any source, according to which she was included by the fashion house among the sexiest model centers on the planet.
A photo of him was retouched to make it appear unmistakably in the act of making the Roman salute, while it was a pose chosen for a shot in front of the statue of Julius Caesar.
Oliviero Toscani has often made people argue for his counter-current choices in his advertising campaigns. In an interview with ANSA he explains how he judges this affair.
"For me nothing new ... I have had an office for years that researches particular faces. That girl is beautiful, she has a very interesting face, she expresses a form of intelligence. She is not a barbie doll, she is not a little object. It is a much more complex beauty ".
Are the canons of traditional beauty changing? Or do they no longer exist?
"Conformism exists. Fools see beauty only in banally beautiful things. There are much more complex beauties. This interest in this story is incredible. This face is truly revolutionary, it undermines all canons of traditional conformist beauty. Beauty it's a form of personality. This face expresses personality and a very particular charisma. "
Is it a success for Gucci too?
"It is logical that it is a victory. They were very good at making this choice. Anyway, nothing new ... Personally I have always done this research".
Is it the search for something different?
"It's not about finding the different. It's like journalism. Every day you look for a new personality, an interesting face".
Are we in the wake of the search for models closer to everyday reality?
"This is not a common face, it is a very intellectual choice. Common are the blondes, the 'pussies' ... The television is full of these figures, among the presenters there are many barbie-dolls. Instead, she has no makeup , she has a fantastic face oval, this nose ... I find it very interesting ".
Should body shaming be stopped in some way or is there a risk of limiting freedom of thought?
"Humanity is full of idiots, I don't care what they say. I'm not wasting my time with those who I think are stupid. Social networks are given too much importance, I'm a cultural concierge. I don't see why I should argue with them, it's very interesting the search for an alternative morphology ".
Armine Harutyunyan said in an interview with Repubblica that she prefers to ignore these haters ...
"It is logical that they should be ignored. With this face we take a step forward in research, in judging what is beautiful and what is not. American beauties of the 50s were all vamps, even a little silly ... This, however, is a face that commands respect, it is not an object. It does not make you want to be a bully. It inspires respect, why not sculetta . It's a whole other world, another education, another ethics ".