Over the past few years, the clothing store Brandy Melville has been the go-to spot for teen fashion. With cute tops and pants, it’s great! Although, does their unique sizing system really work for all body types?
This “one size fits most” talk has become a huge part of the controversy surrounding this business. The modeling industry has been trying to make a change when it comes to highlighting models with curves - or who might be built differently than the “average” or “expected” beauty standards we’ve come to know. Although this movement has been making progress, it’s happening too late, and people have their own opinions as to how models should look. This is just the tip of the iceberg of this incredibly large problem, and Brandy Melville is a part of it.
When looking at clothing on the Brandy website, it becomes quite obvious that most of the sizes only accommodate extra small, small, and medium-sized bodies. While this sizing could work for some, why not manufacture plus-size inventory? This is the question that I believe kicked off the controversy.
Stephen Marsan, CEO of Brandy Melville has been mentioned quite a lot in recent news articles. One talking about Marsan’s ways from a business insider states that he expected and envisioned small, white girls and women as his buyers. While browsing on the Brandy Melville website, very few models of color were photographed, the large majority being white.
So really, while processing this information, the big picture is that today, most clothing stores don’t produce plus-sized clothing or clothing intended for a diverse audience. Different kinds of bodies and ethnicities should be celebrated and no one should ever feel inferior because of the way they look. Unfortunately, this kind of discrimination is very much real. It’s important that we recognize that and work towards a better future.
https://www.businessinsider.com/brandy-melville-ceo-doesnt-want-black-shoppers-ex-store-owner-2021-9
Comments