Unfit for the Mold
Image Courtesy: Charlotte Day
Body positivity. The phrase is plastered across runways and billboards, marketed as the ultimate road to inclusivity. However, for an industry that claims to celebrate diversity, its vision remains narrowly defined by excluding those who dare to fall outside the mold. At first glance, the campaigns appear inviting, promising a shift in perspective. However, mainstream fashion's version of inclusivity barely scratches the surface. Body positivity is reduced to an aesthetic rather than an experience.
Watching body positivity transform into just another marketable trend is draining. It’s sold back to us as if true inclusivity could ever be something branded. True inclusion started as a response to the desire for representation and respect. It began as an argument for beauty, existing beyond conditions or limitations. Despite these passionate calls for change, fashion still centers on narrow standards, adding another layer of gloss over the same old mold.
Brands often parade as champions of inclusivity, but their approach tends to be superficial—a perfectly curated cast of models hinting at diversity without embodying it. This performative inclusivity may dazzle on the runway but falls flat in the real world. Take the recent rebranding of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, once a symbol of exclusivity. Now, the brand promises a more “inclusive” image, recognizing its past but still working to rewrite the narrative. And yet, the shift feels like a move to stay relevant, more than a genuine commitment to change.
Image Courtesy: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Similarly, the recent film The Substance offers a unique lens on this commercialization. In a society consumed with beauty, the main character transforms to fit an industry-mandated ideal, losing their individuality. One scene, where characters reshape to fit a mold, mirrors the pressure people experience to conform to beauty standards rather than being encouraged to celebrate themselves. Much like these fictional characters, people today are urged to fit into a version of body positivity defined by the industry, an industry that only includes specified types of diversity. In this context, body positivity is rebranded and sold back to us—but only in forms that play by the industry’s rules.
Image Courtesy: Mubi
The toll of this approach is substantial. The subtle pressure to present oneself as “body positive,” but only in ways that align with accepted norms, is exhausting. Many find themselves stuck in a loop of self-doubt, falling short of even ‘inclusive’ standards. The industry’s version of body positivity doesn’t feel empowering but confining, like another expected standard. True body positivity isn’t about aesthetics; it’s about respecting and celebrating bodies in all forms, even those that challenge preconceived notions of beauty.
Fashion has the power to redefine society’s standards, not by filtering beauty but by embracing it in all its unpolished, diverse, and authentic forms. Imagine if fashion went beyond portraying diversity and truly lived it, where inclusivity extended past surface-level gestures to embrace stories that cannot be airbrushed away. True inclusivity would be more than curated images; it would reflect the world in genuine, unedited forms.
Image Courtesy: Lampoon Magazine
Fashion’s true impact isn’t in how well inclusivity can be packaged, but in its willingness to celebrate every story, every form, and every individual beyond the pageantry of the runway. Embracing this vision means redefining beauty—not as a trend but as an evolving reflection of humanity itself.
Strike Out,
Writer: Salette Cambra
Editor: Dani Hernandez
Graphic Designer: Cole Martucci
Tallahassee