Plus-size fashion brand launches campaign against Victoria's Secret
‘We're making fun of this ridiculously outdated attitude’
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Your support makes all the difference.The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show might’ve come and gone, but many are still reeling from the controversies that surrounded this year’s event, which saw one executive say he didn’t think they should cast plus-size or “transsexual” models, the CEO step down and an all-time low in TV ratings.
Now, one plus-size fashion brand has launched its own more inclusive, version, poking fun at the annual show’s lack of diversity.
Navabi, which pegs itself as “the global leader in plus-size fashion”, created its own mini fashion show, casting exclusively plus-size women to combat what it describes as Victoria’s Secret’s “ridiculously outdated attitude”.
Shortly before this year’s event was taped, Victoria’s Secret’s chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, told Vogue he’d attempted to do a “television special” version featuring all plus-size models in 2000, but claimed “no one had any interest in it,” adding they “still don’t”.
Navabi’s campaign video, which was posted on Twitter, begins by showing Razek’s quote on screen, followed by the line: “our models thought your attitude to body diversity was so out of touch it felt like a spoof. So… they decided to make fun of you a little.”
The short film begins with five models, wearing underwear and angel wings, asking in unison, “Hey Victoria, what’s your secret?” before dancing on screen and saying “the secret is that you don’t care about most women”.
Bethany Rutter, social media manager at Navabi tells The Independent how she hopes the video will show how powerful inclusive marketing can be.
"It feels as if the tide has turned against this narrow definition of beauty in lots of spaces and it's bizarre to me that Victoria's Secret are resisting it even in 2018," she says.
"Even if brands don't understand on an ethical level that inclusion of different bodies is right, you would think they would understand it on a financial level.
"We want Victoria's Secret to finally step into the 21st century."
The campaign has been highly praised on social media, with many fans claiming they’re “fed up” of the lack of diversity in the fashion industry.
“Thank you for giving a 21-year-old a positive message about loving my body no matter what size I am,” responded one person, while another added, “This was way more interesting than the VS show."
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