Is Fashion Inclusive Enough?
Attempts to encourage diversity in the entertainment and fashion industries have traditionally prioritized White customers’ faces, voices, and bodies. There is always a hierarchy over who gets to be in front of the camera when it comes to representation. This is why the so-called “diversity” of the fashion industry sometimes seems incredibly homogeneous. Diversity campaigns seem to be seen as either another box to check or an aesthetic pattern to pursue by brands.
This representational hierarchy extends beyond race. When it comes to fashion representation, cultural diversity is just the tip of the iceberg. I can’t imagine how many young girls would have wished to see anyone of their body shape, someone with a hijab, anyone with a differently-abled body, or anyone who wasn’t cisgender in similar catalogues when they grew up. People who find themselves at the crossroads of many identities are forced to cling to the sliver of themselves reflected in the media in many respects because ththeirllness is so rarely seen in the mainstream. Some tend to feel out of a place of living unhealthy life due to the rejection in size. Find out how to order healthy meals base on reviews.
These critiques are not limited to the ethical and sustainable fashion industry. Although many of the ethical brands we love and endorse have started to reflect ethnic diversity, there is still more work to be more inclusive of all body types. In response to the Jesse Kamm/Madewell controversy, the recent uproar from the ethical fashion community showed there is still a lot to be done in the moral fashion space regarding body-inclusivity. Jesse Kamm’s claim that Madewell used her name as a keyword to sell their products developed into a series of calls from the ethical fashion community about Kamm’s lack of inclusive sizing in her brand.
Shannon Buckley, an ethical fashion blogger, expressed her displeasure with Jesse Kamm’s alleged failure to give more inclusive sizing in an Instagram article, saying that as a supporter of slow fashion and small businesses. She will “happily tout the worthiness of inclusive fast fashion alternatives (as well as inclusive slow fashion alternatives) any day.”. Read online reviews about companies.
The ordeal demonstrates that responsible and sustainable fashion brands should be inclusive. Brands that refuse to deliver inclusive sizing and fail to reflect consumers are chastising a diverse selection of models in their brand imagery. The need for progressive inclusivity is all the more urgent for brands that put ethical and sustainable practices at the edge of their mission. If brands struggle to reflect the wide range of consumers, they will fail to effectively change consumers’ buying preferences towards more aware brands.
Brands must move away from palatable diversity as a means of remaining fashionable and toward progressive inclusivity as a core principle that advances the sustainable fashion industry’s overall goal. This entails doing more than just using a token Black or Brown model in advertisements.
Radical inclusivity entails asking how we can cast a wider net, allowing people from all walks of life to participate. It’s about getting to a point in the fashion industry where the “standard” is defined by a wide range of skin tones, body shapes, gender identities, and ages. We must also do a better job of portraying people who have multiple identities. The work of inclusivity is never final. It’s impossible to be “too inclusive,” which is why there’s always space for change.
It’s also critical that, rather than being defensive when confronted with a lack of inclusivity in a particular location, brands remain responsive and receptive to what their customers have to say. When it comes to debates about inclusivity and inclusion in the fashion industry, modesty is perhaps the most significant virtue. For decades, beauty stereotypes and systems have kept many people out of business, and we are just now starting to change things.