By: Julieta Ramos
American Eagle dropped their denim campaign starring Sydney Sweeney in the summer of 2025. Ever since then, the internet’s had a lot to say. It’s impacted many women and raised questions based on beauty standards, fashion, and how these advertisements affect our sense of self.
Campaigns like this tend to affect young women because fashion ads don’t just sell the clothes, but an image of what we should strive to be, as well. When the image used is focused on a certain idealized beauty type, it subtly places women in categories and makes them feel whether they do or don’t belong. Ads like this stick with women and shape how we compare ourselves to others. It also affects how women shop, too. It leaves people asking, “Would I shop here if I didn’t feel like I had to look like her?” This sums up the issue with the controversial ad: when brands idolize a specific body type and a specific look, they are risking changing the opinions of the audience they are trying to reach.
The controversy was not personally about Sydney Sweeney, but about the representation. The campaign headed more towards the pattern of normalizing a specific body type, instead of highlighting a variety of body types in their jeans. Beauty standards are everywhere; this is very well known, but their impact runs deep. Ads like this influence young women into thinking that this specific look of a woman is what’s “in.” This can translate into low self-esteem, comparisons, and simply not feeling good enough for certain clothes.
American Eagle dropped the news of the Sydney Sweeney collab via Instagram on July 23, 2025, writing, “Not a cameo. Not a test run. Sydney Sweeney just dropped the denim performance of the year. @Sydney_Sweeney has great jeans, and you can too.”
The bigger question at the heart of the conversation is: why do specific body types still feel more “right” for campaigns? Brands choose to cater to normalized beauty standards because it feels “safe” or because it has worked in the past. Audiences today aren’t up for it. People nowadays want to see ads that reflect real people. The variety of shapes, sizes, and identities is what draws people into purchasing more of a brand. Knowing that women could feel accepted or confident in the clothes they buy should be the goal of the brand, not minimizing it to only a certain type of person.
So, the American Eagle ad became a cultural flashpoint because it caused a division between brands and society: the difference between what brands think we want to see and what we actually want to see. Young women now have a say in when they feel brands have failed them, and speak up for the change they want to see. We are no longer just uninvolved viewers.
Ultimately, the goal of denim is to be universal for all different people. Everyone has a right to feel confident in the clothes they wear and that their clothing reflects who they are. Flashpoints will continue to occur until brands start embracing inclusion and diversity. And, to be honest, this could be a positive thing, because it keeps the pressure on fashion brands to finally give their audiences what they want.