Body Positive Fashion Brands
As HAES providers, we find it extremely important to know and share the body positive fashion brands on the market. These brands have done incredible work to challenge the thin ideal and promote body diversity in the fashion world. As explained in our last post , the fashion world has a history of emphasizing thinness, and created a depiction of the human body that does not accurately reflect the general population. This thin ideal has impacted our overall health as a nation, and normalized manipulating our bodies to beauty and fashion standards. Body positive fashion brands have tested boundaries and challenged the status quo. They work to create a fashion world for people to feel good in the clothes they wear, while keeping up with the latest trends as well. We have gathered a list of powerful fashion brands that strive for body inclusivity and positivity.
American Eagle/Aerie
Aerie was one of the first brands of intimates to emphasize self love and body inclusivity. In 2020 they launched their campaign #AerieREAL Positivity, which gained a lot of traction during the pandemic. It was a campaign that emphasized taking pride in being your real, authentic self. They strove to change the narrative for the next generation, wanting to empower teens to grow up to be powerful, confident, and REAL.
Lululemon
Lululemon has been at the forefront of innovating athletic apparel and impacting the “athleisure” trend. They have created an inclusive environment for bodies of all shapes and sizes, emphasizing that movement can look and feel different for everyone. The sizes are very widespread, for example the sizes range from 0-33 in women’s pants, and 26-46 in men’s. Lululemon even has a size consultation service where you can make an appointment to work with an expert to find the size that fits your body. This company also emphasizes hemming or tailoring when needed- yet another message that the clothes are meant to fit you– not the other way around!
Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger has held its own in the fashion industry since the start of the brand in 1985. In 2016 they released their first line of adaptive clothing. This line includes wider necklines, magnetic clothing, seated wear, and clothing that can fit with prosthetics. The clothing is catered towards function, and providing ease in the getting dressed routine. The variety within this line helps people feel comfortable and confident.
Old Navy
In 2021 Old Navy launched its Body Equality campaign. This movement was inspired by the effort to normalize and expand size inclusivity throughout the clothing industry. Part of this campaign was to introduce price parity among sizes 0-30 and XS-4X. This means they put an end to charging more for “plus size” clothing, a term they also did away with during this campaign. Another part of this campaign was to expand the body size and shapes of the mannequins in the stores ranging from sizes 4-18. You can even choose which size model you want displayed when shopping online on the Old Navy website.
Yitty by Lizzo with Fabletics
This new line was just launched by Lizzo in partnership with Fabletics in 2022. The brand emphasizes its “shapewear to celebrate you, not change you”. They offer an online quiz to get to know your “Yitty style”. They first ask you why you came to YITTY, which includes an option to choose “The Body Positivity Movement”. Under this category, there are several options of style to choose from including comfortable and supportive shapewear, loungewear, clothing that hug and hold me, and whatever the mood that strikes! It then goes into detail on how you like your clothes to fit and hold your body. This line of wear has created an inclusive environment that makes the shopper feel individual, comfortable and empowered!
Slick Chick
Slick Chick is a brand founded in 2012 by Helya Mohammadian. The foundation of this brand was inspired by the journey Helya’s sister went through when recovering from a C section surgery. Helya realized that getting dressed, an extremely personal process, is the hardest part of many people’s day, when living with physical constraints. She wanted to create a line of adaptive clothing that catered towards accessibility for all people. They make it their mission to empower their shoppers, to promote clothing that feels good, looks good, and goes on with ease.
Target
Target has been hugely successful with their swimsuit line year after year. This is in part due to the campaign #NOFOMO launched in 2016. This campaign was created to remind people that there should be “no fear of missing out” when it comes to bathing suit-related activities. Target encourages their shoppers to feel like the best version while wearing their swimsuit line.
These are some of the many brands that promote body positivity and inclusivity. Other brands that align with these ideals include ASOS, Athleta, Encircled, Girlfriend Collective, Knix, SKIMS, Dressbarn, Torrid, ModCloth, Adidas, H&M, and Eloquii. The missions of these companies and campaigns are changing the narrative among the fashion industry, and are leaning towards fashion that can feel comfortable too!
