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.
inspiring read.
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