Abstract:
The fashion industry has endorsed unattainable beauty standards for years through
them glorifying an idealistic image of tallness and thinness which has been reinforced
through the utilisation of thin models in media and through the limited shapes and sizes
of clothing being produced for women. This unattainable portrayal has contributed to
numerous women’s negative self-images as part of a downward comparison.
With the recent slow shift towards body appreciation and representation of different
shapes and sizes in media, the quantitative study focuses on investigating the
relationship between the incorporation of body size inclusivity by a fashion brand and
the brand response it receives from its customers which directly affects the customerbased
brand equity.
Through the use of an online survey questionnaire that allowed for the data to be
collected across South Africa, it was found that female H&M consumers, who are
between the ages of 21 and 35 that live in South Africa, would positively respond to
body size inclusive fashion brands as they have positive feelings and judgements about
them.
The study academically adds knowledge around the new phenomenon body size
inclusivity and contributes to the customers’ desires and perceptions context in fashion
diversity studies which is limited.
