Is Inclusivity Becoming the Key to Apparel Brand Growth? [OPINION]

As a senior sales associate in the retail world, I hear it all the time. Does your store sell plus sized clothing? My heart sinks as I lead them to a single rack in the fitting room where they can browse a limited range of dresses, tops, and pants. This is it? I apologize and inform them that they can find more sizes and options available online. Is this what the “shopping experience” has become… an isolation of plus-sized merchandise as we direct customers to a separate section of the store? Unfortunately, this has become the reality plus-size shoppers face and rather than getting them excited about the newest trends or pieces a store has to offer, we give them no choice but to feel unrepresented.

A major roadblock floating in the realm of fashion today is the lack of inclusivity. Women who are shopping for plus-sized clothing aren’t getting the same shopping experience as those who shop for “straight sizes.” In an article published by Forbes, 80 plus-sized women shared their thoughts on the current market and ultimately, brought attention to what they would like the fashion industry to know. Lisa from North Carolina wants the simple pleasure of being able to walk into her favorite stores, grab a pile of clothing, and try them on with her girlfriends. Instead, she finds herself hiding away at home with the company of mail orders. Constance from Massachusetts reminds retailers that size does NOT diminish style. All too often clothing offered to plus-sized women are built with extra fabric and not cut for curves. With a variation in demands, their feedback makes it evident that if apparel brands are to grow, they must approach fashion with an inclusive vision.

Within a culture that has fallen victim to body shaming, more and more brands have been working to revamp the experience they lend to shoppers in the wake of this inclusivity issue. One brand in particular, Addition Elle, is making moves to create a more sophisticated image across all domains – mobile, e-commerce, and physical retail. The Canadian plus-size fashion brand surfaced from this idea of women not getting the same experiences when shopping. Gita Omri, Fashion Designer and founder of size-inclusive brand Gita Omri calls it a culture of “shaming and hiding” as plus-sizes are either nonexistent, offered exclusively online, or placed in back and on a floor that can’t be easily accessed. This needs to change.

Addition Elle led with a goal to transform their online shopping experience in a way that felt and appeared seamless. By using bold images of their clothing and giving suggestions on ways shoppers can wear the pieces, customers are introduced to a digital storefront. So, for those instances when clothing cannot be found in-store, Addition Elle has made it feel more inclusive within their online portal.

It doesn’t end here; traditional retailers are also catching on to the changes that need to be made for plus-size women within their shopping experiences. Lane Bryant, well-known mall brand, has crafted its website in a way that allows customers to post their own photos showcasing how they style Lane Bryant pieces. In this attempt to make their site more user-generated, customers find inspiration through online-shopping. In March 2019, Universal Standard launched a tool referred to as See It In Your Size, which gives customers the chance to see every product the company sells, in every size. They worked with and shot models who represented one of the broadest size ranges ever (00-40), so the images on their site represent a diversity of shapes and sizes.

It could be said that online-only collections make it convenient for customers to complete their shopping from home, but this isn’t what the shopping experience is about. Women enjoy going into the store and physically trying outfits on. I believe this is an element of the fashion world that will never die because even though this industry constantly evolves, it remains timeless. The enhanced online experience efforts made from Addition Elle, Lane Bryant, and Universal Standard are steps in the right direction when it comes to plus-size women relating to what they see online. However, inclusivity needs to be represented in retailer stores as well.

Plus-size women want to be treated like every other woman out there and by increasing efforts to cater to this demographic, stores have the power to make monumental changes. It starts with apparel brands including all sizes in their stores and representing body shapes from all walks of life.

I would never want to shop at a different store than my friends simply because my size dictated it. Would you?