Ellen DeGeneres: Be You (By Dressing Like Me)

The irony lurks, unintended by the author, in the opening paragraphs of this article on Ellen DeGeneres’ new clothing line for Gap.

“Be you.”

Ellen DeGeneres breathed new life into that old cliche at Sunday night’s Teen Choice Awards, telling her fans to be proud of their individuality. “I want to make sure that everyone knows that what makes you different right now, makes you stand out later in life,” she said. “So you should be proud of being different, you should be proud of who you are.”

DeGeneres has long been a proponent of embracing your true self—from being one of the first big celebrities to come out as gay, to infusing her unique, goofy spirit into the Ellen Show, to launching a lifestyle brand that sells clothes that mirror her own “non-gender-specific” style.

Yes, Ellen and the PR folks at Gap think that teens can express their individuality by purchasing intentionally generic clothing that Ellen would wear. This generic clothing will be mass-produced and available in shopping-mall-staple Gap stores all around the country.

I think we need a new kind of irony. Design irony, perhaps? When the intent of the design is the opposite of the likely result of the design.

__________________

Image via YouTube