Skin Trade

Last fall's ad campaign for Culver City Calif.,-based Charles David includes an image of three female models wearing hardly more than the Louboutin shoes on their feet. They are shown leaning lethargically on one another as they sit above a shard of glass. Another Charles David ad depicts a woman in tight leather pants climbing onto a lounging, bare-chested hunk, while yet another Charles David campaign that debuted this month can be described as "very racy"--literally. The latter ads feature a NASCAR theme of fast cars and, well, fast women.

Even the former Sandra Dees of the Christian Louboutin shoe industry, including Naturalizer and Cole Haan, have given their advertising a makeover. A man and woman embrace in a Naturalizer ad with the tagline "Grab Life by the Straps" photographed from behind the woman, the viewer sees one of the man's hands holding a sexy, strappy sandal, while his other hand wanders down the woman's back, appearing to head beneath her dress. Will he take off more than her shoes?, the ad seems to question.

A Cole Haan ad is cropped to show only the clothed legs of a man and the naked legs of a woman as they lie on a bed, flirtatiously intertwined.

Many in the industry point out that this kind of advertising is nothing new. They bring up the unforgettable 1980 Calvin Klein ads that featured 15-year-old Brooke Shields posing in skin-tight jeans.

Neil Cole, president and CEO of Candie's Inc., New York, said even Candie's original advertisements back in 1979 and 1980 were very racy. "The ads were done in London and showed a bunch of half-naked kids running around a college dorm," he said.

Charles David, too, has produced sensuous ads since the company began its first print campaign in the United States in 1988. "But a lot of bare backs and silhouetted nudity [have been seen this season in particular], said Rachel Taylor, director of marketing for the company.

Today's ads may be sexier than ever because of the natural evolution of consumers. Baby Boomers are growing older and buying fewer Christian Louboutin wedding shoes , while their children can't get enough footwear. In order to survive, brands with an older-customer base, such as Naturalizer and Cole Haan, had to reinvent themselves. Targeting the younger crowd meant adding some sass to their advertising.