Curvy Kate, known for its fuller bust ranges of lingerie and swimwear,
has launched its most diverse campaign to date. Its #TheNewSexy campaign
features eight female role models, including an Alopecia sufferer, a
transgender woman, an amputee and recovered anorexic, as it looks to
challenge social ‘norms’.
The #TheNewSexy calls for women of all shapes, backgrounds and sizes to
be represented in the media, along with looking to redefine how society
views the word ‘sexy’, the lingerie brand said.
Curvy Kate has always championed real women, since launching it has
never employed a professional model to front its lingerie and swimwear
campaigns, instead, it has always opted to celebrate their customers and
use social media to find “eclectic” role models to wear its collections.
Commenting on its approach, head of PR and marketing, Hannah Isichei
said: ”It’s important for us as a brand to speak to as many women as
possible through our campaigns. We know our customers don’t all look the
same, so why should our models? Why should boudoir lingerie just be
reserved for a handful of society?
“We want women to look at our products and see them on a body they can
relate to. Scantilly lingerie is for every woman and every body, so it’s
important that our models reflect this attitude.”
In recent years the modelling and fashion industries has been under
scrutiny due to the lack of diversity promoted in adverts. A report by The
Fashion Spot stated that out of 422 models involved in the largest
spring/summer 2016 campaigns, only 1.4 percent were above a size 12, while
only 21.8 percent included a model of colour, and zero adverts featured
transgender models.
Curvy Kate’s new campaign for its third Scantilly collection, which
includes peep-hole briefs, sexy suspenders, half cup balcony bras and sheer
basques in sizes DD-HH cups and small to extra large, features an anorexic
and body positive activist, a transgender woman, an amputee, an aspiring
curve model who suffers with skin condition Alopecia, as well as a number
of bloggers and a Youtube vlogger.
Grace Victory, a successful Youtube vlogger who talks about issues such
as self-esteem, eating disorders and self-harm, who features in the
campaign, said: “I think if diversity was shown in the media it would just
become the ‘norm’. At the moment it’s still kind of an ‘oh my god moment’
when we see someone who is slightly bigger or even a girl of colour on the
catwalk or in adverts, which is shocking really.
“Showing all different kinds of people will really help the younger
generations to see someone they relate to, whether it be tall, short, fat,
thin or whatever. I think the industry has a long way to go but some brands
such as Scantilly are putting their foot forward and playing a part in
something that means such a lot to a wide range of people.”
Anorexic and body positive activist, Megan Crabbe, added: “I spent a
long time believing that feeling confident or sexy was reserved for people
with the ‘perfect’ body and that the rest of us didn’t deserve it.
“Modelling for Scantilly after beating years of body insecurities was
personally empowering and so much fun. This campaign shows anyone with body
image issues that we are ALL worthy of confidence, all sizes, all skin
colours, all abilities. It’s exactly the kind of diverse representation we
need to help us all see our unique beauty a bit more clearly.”
Scantilly by Curvy Kate is available at curvykate.com, Debenhams.com and
Figleaves.com.
Images: courtesy of Curvy Kate.