Limits of inclusion and diversity - When the textile market creates new complexes

During the last few years, we all heard of the excesses of the fast fashion industry -from outsourcing to benefit from low production costs, to the harsh working conditions and the greenwashing strategies. We had so many solutions to that significant societal issue, but is the problem only a question of production and quality? What about the societal phenomenon of diversity and inclusion? What is hidden behind these words full of hope ?The clothing industry has always known how to benefit from our differences. It has begun with something which seems trivial today -segmentation through gender discrimination. These pompous words, in marketing jargon, simply mean that they create specific lines for men and women with specific prices. What was at first a mere socio-demographic criteria turns out to be categories that we must fit in. Even worse, these depict what a manly man should wear and conversely what a womanly woman should wear.

But the world we are living in is in constant change, developing new ways to consume and new ways to integrate what is fashion or not. For instance, for almost the 15 first years of the 20^th century, women’s canons of beauty were limited to the “skinny white girl” while today consumers are more and more attracted by beauty diversity. The clothing firms could not miss a bit of this positive trend, which is the main reason why they magnified inclusive lines. A case in point is the British online platform Asos which is known for its -small, tall and curvy- lines, or even Mango, the Spanish brand which decided to create an affiliate-named Violeta- dedicated to women plus size products. The communication made around these campaigns is unique, with well-known curvy models -such as Ashley Grahams- and slogans which empower the beauty of women through diversity. The clothing companies are hyping this trend, focusing for instance on the “hashtag body positive”.

However, what could happen when a fashion trend is not fully assumed ? The case of Zara in 2019 is a relevant example of how the use of a specific term can engender a wave of new complexes. The big firm, like many others, wanted to take advantage of this reversal in inclusiveness and diversity, therefore they decided to nominate the Dutch model Jill Kortleve as their new plus-size muse. So inspiring! Where is the bad buzz then? The problem remains in the size of the model: she is a 40. Plus-size originally means sizes which are higher than the national average, while the European average is 40, even 42. This unsuccessful marketing strategy leads to the creation of new complexes. Women all around the world understood the message as “If you are a 40 or more, you are curvy”. Moreover, a crucial key to take into account is that not every country has the same standards and size averages. For instance, a medium sized woman in Latin America would be a curvy one in Asia.

 

“Excessive” inclusivity finally leads to the creation of new standards of beauty. This trend more or less began in 2018, and comes from the over exposure of the Kardashian Family. What was earlier considered as out of competition is now the most girls' dream body – “small waist, pretty face, with a big bank”. This song became viral on social media and mainly Tiktok. Girls and women fantasize about a  perfect body which is not real. Everyone knows that all today's icons went under the scalpel to sculpt their bodies. It paints a really sad portrait of our lost generation which is blinded by what a beautiful woman should be. Diversity paradoxically leads place to the standardization of beauty. It goes from skinny white girls to curvy light skin ones. Nevertheless, where are the dark skin women, those who wear a hijab, the disabled? They all are women too, aren’t they? Inclusion and diversity are two words which imply so many categories and subcategories, but the clothing industry oriented it in function of the market.

Does inclusivity mean that you must wear some specific type of product according to your morphology? It sounds more like a way to differentiate and dictate, doesn’t it? There are two school of thought: those who see this shift as a global progress, and those who argue that the firms only use our emotions and complexes to make even more profits.

 

Imane Moumen

 

 

 SOURCES : 

https://gm-fashioncareer.com/diversity-inclusion-in-the-fashion-industry/

 

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/diversity-inclusion-in-the-fashion-industry

 

https://www.lesechos.fr/weekend/mode-beaute/la-mode-xxl-un-defi-de-taille-1344912

 

https://www.graziamag.ma/articles/avec-son-aegaerie-soi-disant-ae-curvyau-zara-fait-un-bad-buzz-/ZADGHACP