We Need to Talk About Fashion.

by Sophie Mitchell




Victoria Secret recently held their multi-million-dollar fashion show on November 8th, and it’s fair to say it was very well attended. Size 0 models strut up and down a catwalk, parading around in what can only be described as very little clothing – and its captivating, at least for some. Yet for many, there is a huge issue. An issue that re-occurs every year, in every form of fashion, in every company. Diversity.

Nowhere during the show were there any trans models or models above a (US) size 2 and people are not happy, me for one. Plus-size models are becoming more and more common, and many of them spread the message of body positivity. After a summer of Love Island, a show where it is implied you must be a (UK) size 8, have 4 foot legs and a Kylie Jenner-esque pout, it’s no wonder people feel unfairly represented.

Victoria’s Secret praise themselves for championing diversity by including models of different ethnicities, yet for many, this isn’t enough. The brand has frankly archaic views on plus-sized women, transgender women, and even the ‘middle-sized’ women. They have recently come under fire from the public after it was released that during an interview with Vogue, when questioned the CEO Ed Razek basically said that trans and plus-sized models didn’t fit the company’s image. Defending his "brand's point of view". Razek said that while they had "considered" putting plus-size and transgender models in the show, they hadn't because "we market who we sell to, and we don't market to the whole world". But, it was when questioned as to why Victoria's Secret doesn't stock bra sizes above 40DDD, that Razek really summed up the brand's opinion. “It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy." Going on to defend his decision Razek said, "we attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t."

In a time when the likes of Tess Holliday and Ashley Graham have graced the covers of Cosmopolitan and Vogue. And Giuliana Farfalla and Valentina Sampaio made history with their Playboy and Vogue covers, you would think that Victoria's Secret would want to move with the times. You would think that someone in their company has some sort of business acumen; increasing body diversity in the show would surely push sales, and mean more profit for the company. When a company has the ability to cater for people other than a size 0, it should be embraced, not pushed to the back of some naïve CEO’s mind.


With companies such as Rhianna’s Savage X Fenty line marketing with primarily plus       sized models, and ASOS promoting their curve line for women with actual curves, it seems absurd for a company such as Victoria’s secret to not move on with the times. This is not the first time Victoria Secret have come under fire for body diversity. In 2014, a petition against the newly released lingerie collection called "Body" was created when the poster ads displayed the words 'THE PERFECT "BODY"' over well-known VS Angels. The petition, while becoming popular across social media, demanded that Victoria's Secret "apologise and take responsibility for the unhealthy and damaging message that their ‘Perfect Body’ campaign sends out about women’s bodies and how they should be judged."

The petition also demanded a change in the wording on Victoria's Secret advertisements for their bra range Body, to something that does not promote unhealthy and unrealistic standards of beauty," asking the company to not use such harmful marketing in the future. Petitioners created the hashtag "#iamperfect", which trended on Twitter for body shaming women. The petition had over 30,000 signatures.

Although there was never a formal apology released, Victoria's Secret took note of the petition and changed the words on their ad campaign to 'A BODY FOR EVERY BODY.'

There is an outcry for more diversity, and I hope that by next year, body diversity will become the forefront of fashion campaigns.

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