A recent Fashion Nova campaign has come under fire for not being truly body-positive despite being advertised as such. The fast fashion company’s Instagram post featuring models in sizes ranging from extra small to 1X garnered attention for featuring models with flat stomachs and hourglass figures, lacking body diversity. Followers criticized the brand for not including a wider variety of body types and for models in medium and extra-large sizes looking almost identical.
Many users on Instagram expressed their disappointment with Fashion Nova’s lack of representation in their body positivity campaigns. Some users sarcastically commented on the lack of diversity in body types, questioning the authenticity of the company’s message. Others criticized the brand for only showcasing athletic and worked-on bodies, pointing out that not all bodies have a toned appearance or a flat stomach. Users expressed the need to see models with different body shapes, including mom bods, stretch marks, and larger bellies, to better cater to the average woman’s body size.
The criticism of Fashion Nova’s lack of body diversity is part of a wider push for increased size inclusivity in the fashion industry. The average clothing size for women in the United States is around a size 14, which falls under the Fashion Nova 1X category, considered plus size by industry standards. Many fashion brands have been called out for not representing a diverse range of body types, including Victoria’s Secret, which only recently started featuring curvier models, and Victoria Beckham, who expanded her label’s size range to include larger sizes.
Fashion Nova has faced criticism in the past, with the most recent incident being a $4.2 million fine from the Federal Trade Commission for suppressing negative reviews of items and blocking customer reviews that were less than four stars. Despite being a popular brand among consumers, Fashion Nova’s lack of body diversity in their body positivity campaigns has drawn negative attention and sparked a conversation about the fashion industry’s standards for representation. It is clear that there is a need for more inclusivity in the fashion world to cater to a wider range of body types and sizes.
In response to the backlash, Fashion Nova has not made any public statements addressing the criticisms of their lack of body diversity in their campaigns. The brand’s Instagram post featuring models in limited body types remains on their page, with many followers continuing to voice their disappointment and desire for more representation. As the conversation around body positivity and size inclusivity in fashion continues to grow, brands like Fashion Nova will need to take steps to better represent the diverse range of body types and sizes that their consumers have. Failure to do so may result in further backlash and damage to their brand reputation.
