It must be hard for brands to accommodate the breadth of clientele these days.
Take Marks & Spencer, for example.
They’ve decided to finally include a range of ‘modest’ clothing to cater for women who need ‘flowing fabrics, higher necklines and lower hems’ for whatever reason.
They’re not the first high street brand to offer such – Mango and Zara have already boarded the Ramadan fashion train.
But despite M&S’s effort to diversify and better represent women, loads have complained that the retailer is implying that women who don’t dress from the new section are ‘immodest’.
‘I wish they wouldn’t call it “modest”,’ writes one woman on Mumsnet.
‘It implies women not swathed from head to toe are immodest.’
Others say that the emergence of ‘modest’ fashion goes beyond semantics.
‘This isn’t just semantic but feeds into real-world bullying of women who don’t necessarily want to be covered chin to ankle.
‘It’s really really regressive and wrong and has negative consequences for women.’
M&S, however, say that the ‘modest’ collection isn’t anything new – it’s just a compilation of clothing from their other lines.
More: Fashion
‘It’s not targeted to any specific group and the growing demand for modest fashion is coming from women of many different backgrounds,’ a spokesperson has said.
‘This selection of outfit ideas reflects growing customer demand. “Modest fashion” is an increasingly popular search term, as customers tell us they are looking for more stylish layering pieces, with features such as longer hemlines, sleeves and higher necklines.’
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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