The Impact of Online Body Positivity on the Fashion Industry

August 26, 2019

For the longest time, tall and slim, air-brushed models have represented the fashion industry. Thanks to social media, consumers now have a voice and are using it to express their frustrations online. With consumers’ voices louder than ever on digital platforms, the fashion industry has been forced to take notice.

Here’s how online body positivity has impacted the fashion industry:

More Inclusivity

The average American woman is size 14, but sizes 14 and above are classed as “plus-size”. Previously, stores were divided into small sections based on sizes; women who didn’t identify as plus-size were forced to shop in the plus-size section.  

Today many fashion stores have done away with the subsections all together. Women of all sizes can now shop together instead of going to designated parts of the store.

Before the body positive movement, many brands only carried sizes 0-10; sizes 12 and above were left for plus-size brands. Now fashion brands have become more inclusive and offer a wider range of sizes that go from 0-32.

Diversity of Fashion Models

There was a time when the fashion industry was solely represented by size 2 models, but today the story is very different. Because the average consumer isn’t a size 2, they demanded that models also look more like them.

The fashion industry listened. Plus-size models like Ashley Graham and Tess Holiday redefined what it meant to be a supermodel as they embraced their curves on leading fashion magazines.

Upcoming Fashion Brands for Bigger Sizes

Beyond allowing consumers to express themselves, digital platforms have also paved the way for up and coming fashion brands that serve a niche of the market. E-commerce has revolutionized the fashion industry, which has been ruled by industry giants for decades.

Online brands have the opportunity to seize market share by offering unique products; many have chosen to focus on selling clothes of bigger sizes. Larger-sized consumers have more options for clothes than they ever have in the past.

Lefty Production Co. loves fashion brands are going out of their way to promote body positivity!

If you have a brand that caters to a market niche, contact us. From sourcing & design to apparel pattern making Los Angeles, garment sample making Los Angeles and production, Lefty Production Co. does it all.

Share your vision with us, and let’s get to work.

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