Advertising, diversity statements, and the portrayal of inclusiveness. A comparative analysis of luxury and fast fashion brands

This study has touched upon inclusive representation in visual and textual communication, focusing on luxury fashion brands and fast fashion brands. Since the death of George Floyd in 2020 and the global protests against systemic racism that followed, societies are moving towards a more inclusive reality. After that, inclusion and diversity have increased in relevance, and as a result, companies are appointing Chief Diversity Officers, releasing statements, and outlining inclusion and diversity strategies. Fashion brands are not excluded from addressing inclusion and diversity. In the past, fashion brands have received extensive backlash due to narrow beauty standards portrayal, little to no diversity in ethnicities representation both visually and in the organisations themselves. Therefore, they should increase their inclusive visual representation and address inclusion and diversity at an organisational level. Thus, the main research question explored in this study was How are fashion brands representing inclusivity in their brand communication? and an industry comparison between fast fashion brands and luxury fashion brands was conducted. The most appropriate methodology for this study was thematic analysis, which, due to its flexibility, was suitable to adapt to a cross-comparison of visual and textual data. The framework of image analysis was also applied to gain a deeper understanding of inclusive visual communication. The main findings highlighted how fashion brands visually tackle inclusion and diversity by depicting more ethnicities, communicating a sense of community, and fostering freedom of expression. However, representations of different body types lacked in fast fashion and luxury fashion brands, mainly representing the idealised body type that fashion has maintained throughout the years. Diversity statements presented one main common pattern: employees’ empowerment. Luxury fashion brands were less vocal about inclusion and diversity than fast fashion brands. The main conclusion of this research is that fashion brands are making an effort towards becoming more inclusive in their brand communication. However, if they want to avoid further backlash and criticism from new generations of consumers, they need to have thought-out inclusion and diversity strategies and improve their inclusive visual communication.