The subtle messages in fashion advertising have consequences beyond storefront windows, and 30-second ads on YouTube. The true intentions behind advertisements will be exposed using a theoretical framework of male gaze theory, and objectification theory. Mulvey explains that visual media aids members of society in “forming the patriarchal unconscious” (1). This pertains to the fashion industry as Mulvey’s analysis of the audience gaze can be applied to the consumption of sexualized advertisements, since it “continues to exist as the erotic basis for pleasure in looking at another person as object” (3). In addition to male gaze, objectification theory “considers mass media, such as advertising, as one of the main contexts in which women’s sexual objectification is played out. Content analyses, indeed, have shown that women are more likely than men to be depicted in sexualized ways in advertisements” (Gramazio, 2021). In order to understand this gender imbalance pertaining to sexualized representation, it is essential to examine the several foundational components. An analysis on the origins of sexualization, the adoption of a hyper-sexualized culture, studies on the effectiveness of nudity, and the message behind previous and current campaigns, will uncover the true purpose as to why the fashion industry represents women as submissive objects.