Fashion is fake. Fake with a capital F and we love it. Where else can we transport ourselves into a world of fantasy, buy into a lifestyle through the purchase of a $7.00 lacquer. Fashion and the advertising behind the looks are all based on suspending reality. So in a sense fashion is the purchase of a single pair of ALDO slingbacks at a mid-tier department store in middle America as much as it is its elaborate runway sets. Fashion endorses extreme versions of a vision, it is fake in every sense of the word, fabulously superficial. Superficial has taken off in a new way through the use of plastic props, which have been used across the globe to set off the new Spring 2010 looks.
Could it be to portray whimsy and adopt a nonsensical tone in like of dark economic times? Could it be due to those economic times? (I think if American Vogue wanted to rent-a-pony for an editorial they could swing it, so I am discounting the real possibility of cost driving the trend, though contributing is up for debate.)
Allow me to present the evidence. First up: the February American Vogue "Back in the Saddle" spread styled by Elissa Santissi and photographed by Raymond Meier features model Constance Jablonski and a faux version of a horse whose resemblance to the beloved black velvet is uncanny. Though this horse is missing a thoroughbred pedigree it has gained more attention that some real-life horses of impressive breeding lines.
It doesn't stop with a single shiny black gelding featured in an American Vogue editorial. The print ads of many different design houses are playing with plastics as a way to channel the youthful energy that fashion always favors. For example, the Mulberry Spring 2010 campaign has models Sasha Pivovarova and Viktoriya Sasonkina spinning around on a merry-go-round while gripping the English label’s signature oversized handbags.
The series of print ads give me a toothache-- I worry is it too much sweet, too far a departure from the brand's identity? Mulberry resonates with consumers seeking the sophisticated with a quirky edge. While it remains to be seen if the giddy girlishness of the setting detracts from the outfits, the prints deserve credit for being on trend and on a carousel!
For last Fall Mullberry ads featured girls running through a forest (read: browns and grey). These new ads help steer Mullberry away from the frumpy and toward a distinctive British style: stylish, rebellious. confident. The use of plastics help communicate that shift from more traditional to a little naughty. 
Advertisers at Aldo got wild for the Spring 2010 ad campaign which features Jessica Stam playfully posing with a plastic feline co-star. The model cleverly channels the spirit of the cheetah in front of the camera lens.
Photographer Terry Richardson captures Stam roaring alongside the plastic cheetah and angles the shot to juxtapose her long legs with the lithe creature in a similar pose. The ads feature other bright red plastic accessories along side quirky shoes. The use of plastics here is playful and showcases the light and fun vibe of the spring season.
Trends via TrendHunter.com.
In the Japanese Vogue March 2010 issue photographer Terry Richardson injects his incredible brand of eccentricity for creative mix of taxidermy tigers, bear heads and buffalo.
I realize this example marks a slight departure from the orignial trend of plastic animals, but these stuffed creatures are unreal! Thank goodness the experienced and skilled model Freja Beha Erichsen works the set (we all must acknowledge the potential for this to get too creepy). Freja captured the feeling of a outlandish carnivore-eal feast and went with it. 
She stares into the lens posing behind a backdrop of bold colors and patterns in hot-pants, plaid coats and mini dresses, mixed with statement accessories. Styled by George Cortina, this outlandish editorial is certainly one to check out and since international spreads are hard to come by I will post a bunch of the pictures here:
