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EDITORIAL REPORTS

For the rest of the fashion advertising world the use of diverse and inclusive models in advertising campaigns is increasing and looks to continue on the same trajectory. The Fashion Spot conducted a study into the use of models in advertising campaigns and forund: "we found that this ad season was the most racially diverse yet, featuring 34 percent nonwhite models, a 1.2 point improvement over Fall 2017’s 32.8 percent." addressing models of race other than white. 

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Graph taken from The Fashion Spot (2018) 

This rise of models of colour is reflected in Victoria's Secret ad campaigns and the annual catwalk, as they have dramatically increased the use of models other than white over the years. However the Victorias Secret models are lacking in representation in other categories. "with almost half of the models being of black, asian, or hispanic descent, not one of the 52 models was plus-size." (Cosmoplitan, 2018). This lack of plus-size representation is echoed industry wide as The Fashion Spot's study found that: "plus-size representation in campaigns is actually on the decline (from 2.3 percent in Spring 2017 to 2.2 percent in Fall 2017 to 1.9 percent in Spring 2018)." 

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Graph taken from The Fashion Spot (2018) 

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I don't know why I'm so surprised, Victoria's Secret don't offer a plus-size range, their bras only go up to a DDD and as such, I can only presume they clearly don't want people like me in their shops. But still, I can't believe that they have so arrogantly ignored the body positive movement that has finally been gaining so much momentum. - Laura Capon for Cosmopolitan (2018).

Although a lack of representation of plus size models is an industry wide problem it seems to be quite damaging to the Victorias Secret brand. This is because the models that are used in Victoria's Secret campaigns and catwalks are referred to as Angel's (which is an integral part of the branding) and are creating a so-called fantasy, so the fact that all the models used are one specific body type suggests that that is the body type to aspire to and all others are lesser. But the body type that is shown by Victoria's Secret is not representative. A recent study found that the average women's size in the US is a 16-18 and that "It is suggested that updating Misses and Plus-size clothing standards should be a major priority." - (Deborah A Cristel & Susan C Dunn, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 2017)  By not catering to plus sizes brands are neglecting a huge area of the market. "Plus-size shoppers have money to burn, and unfortunately, Victoria’s Secret has never given us anything close to a match." - (Amanda Richards, IntheStyle, 2018). 

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