Entering August, there’s a notable must-see accessory in trendy news.
Actor Adam Driver went viral for a Burberry perfume campaign on Monday. The commercial shows Driver running across a deserted beach at dusk and diving into the ocean with a mighty, caramel-colored horse in tow. The two beings emerge as a single animorph, fusing the romantic Burberry hero-on-horseback trope with a healthy dose of Greek mythology. The ad was directed by Jonathan Glazer, photographed by Mario Sorrenti and released by Burberry as a continuation of their first frenzy-inducing centaur commercial released exactly one year ago.
The actor’s fan base was quick to point out that the rugged campaign images, which showed Driver shirtless in waist-deep, crystal blue water, were a unanimous societal response to the question “What is the female gaze?” (Originating from feminist critical theory, the term is typically used to describe art that deviates from the objectifying male perspective that dominates modern culture.) However, Driver’s ad was by no means the only high-profile torso on show during this week. Chloe Kelly caused a stir with her shirtless goal celebration at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday; ecstatic to win the Women’s Euro 2022 soccer final for England (for whom she plays as a forward), Kelly sprinted across the turf and joyfully removed her “Lioness” shirt — revealing a Nike sports bra and lean stomach — a moment that is already being dubbed “the feminist image of the decade.”
After the U.S. women’s hockey team won gold in the 2018 Winter Olympics, player Kelly Pannek celebrated by doing cartwheels and backflips on the ice, a move that writer Lucy Ward described as “because she can” rather than for attention.
