The video: Has a commercial for a mall ever been this cool? In an advertisement for the new Westfield Stratford City shopping center in England, a man and a woman gyrate their way through 100 years of costume changes in 100 seconds — showing off a century of fashion and dance trends along the way. (Watch the video below.) The "amazing" ad begins in 1911, but stiff Edwardian style soon gives way to everything from flapper flocks to grungey flannel, culminating in relatively undistinguished 2011 duds. Westfield Stratford City, which will be London's largest shopping center, is holding its grand opening in two weeks.
The reaction: How fun, says Amanda Dobbins at New York. Of all the looks, the '20s party dress is a standout, as is the "James Spader in Pretty in Pink-style ensemble from the otherwise (always?) regrettable '80s." The fashion may be snappy, says Max Read at Gawker, but it's not always historically accurate. Would it have been more memorably annoying if the dancers had worn 100 different outfits but done "the same dance every time"? My question, says Rebecca Cullers at AdWeek, is "where's the making of video?" See the ad for yourself:
