Ever since its cataclysmic boom in the 1920s, lingerie has played a significant role within the global fashion industry. Originally designed to evoke femininity and sexiness, it’s no wonder society started to build and self-imposed stereotypes that matched up with these traits and all in the hopes of profiting off specific body types that would model different undergarment trends. The fact that not all bodies are the same was often ognored. Thus, diet, exercise and body modifying regimes were born and women would suffer fit the ideal feminine figure.
Of course, lingerie was still sold worldwide after it’s birth and initial popularization thanks to international pioneer brands such as Wonderbra, Vanity Fair, Maidenform, Bali, and Formfit. Nevertheless, a little detail was running amiss. Women of all shapes, colors, and sizes were constantly dealing with the fact that they were underrepresented in the day to day lingerie brand marketing strategies.
For this reason, and, throughout the years, many women that did not fit the status quo of style would resort to “opt-out” and leave lingerie to the scarce few that did; all this under the pretense that curvier, skinnier, darker, shorter, trans or just different bodies were simply not compatible with sensual underclothes.
Nowadays, the game is changing, thanks to the trending body positivity movement: a global initiative designed to acknowledge the worth, validity, and beauty of all bodies, regardless of size, color, ethnicity, gender, and ableness. Industries including music, entertainment, modeling, and fashion have also been embracing the power of inclusivity. Just take a look at stars like Lizzo, influencers like Megan Jayne Crabbe, and even supermodels like Ashley Graham and Iskra Lawrence. Because of these women and the many more that are currently breaking boundaries, women everywhere are starting to stand up for their voices and, specifically, bodies.
One of the most groundbreaking examples of this phenomenon up to date is the world-renowned Savage X lingerie brand- and, of course, its yearly fashion show, Savage X Fenty. Founded in 2018 by Rihanna—pop queen, makeup entrepreneur, and actress—this brand is all about diversity, representation, and sexiness for all female and/or femme-identifying individuals. Let’s not forget about the affordability and high quality of Savage X’s products, a typically decisive factor when it comes to investing in lingerie.
The recent showcase of these products is notorious and record-breaking in its own right. It aired on Friday, September 20 during New York Fashion Week, Savage X Fenty Fall/Winter 2019 was the first full-length runway feature to premiere on Amazon Prime Video, along with its documentary-style behind the scenes of the production. The groundbreaking factors behind this runway and its success are precisely the reasons for which this show is unconventional when compared to other lingerie brands’ seasonal fashion shows. Let’s start with the unique combination of music, dance, and modeling that the Savage X Fenty show has incorporated into its two shows.
While mainstream lingerie fashion brands tend to adhere to the typical runway show structure—except the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows, which occasionally incorporate musical acts as the show progresses—Savage X Fenty creates a one of a kind storyline out of its characters, aka the models, dancers, and performers. Whereas last year’s theme was all about science and flora (think of a Poison Ivy-esque setting complete with labs, jungle settings, and water effects), the current subject matter is all about dominance, cross-culture, and exoticism. The staple lingerie used for this show includes unlined lace pieces, t-shirt bras, signature Savage X Fenty lined bralettes and panties, see-through teddies, scalloped-lace bustiers and panties, and racerbacks. Color scheme-wise, this Fall/Winter collection is all about bold tones such as blacks, reds, mint greens and mustard yellows-all worn by the models, dancers, and even female performers.
This year’s musical performance setlist included Halsey (“Graveyard”), DJ Khaled (“All I Do Is Win”), Normani (dance choreography of “Get Busy”, by Sean Paul), Migos (“Pure Water”), Big Sean, A$AP Ferg, Fabolous, Fat Joe, and Tierra Whack. The artists and supermodels featured in the production included none other than Cara Delevigne, Bella and Gigi Hadid, 21 Savage, Aquaria, Joan Smalls and Laverne Cox.
While these guest stars certainly added some flavor to the fashion show, it’s also important to keep in mind the wide array of individuals that played a part in the outcome of the event. These include the lingerie designers and seamstresses, the set production team, the dancers and choreographers, glam squads, and filmmakers behind the cinematic experience that was Savage X Fenty’s Fall/Winter 2019 fashion show. It was so great, that many noteworthy websites and magazines are gushing about the physical diversity that the Savage X Fenty line is promoting, as well as the milestone that Rihanna has contributed to the fashion industry at large. While Vogue states that “Rih has given us the confidence, the approval to be ourselves”, Marie Claire points out that (Savage X Fenty) “isn’t a fashion show like we’ve seen before, and these aren’t Angels”.
Rihanna’s entrepreneurial lingerie project has garnered all the hype that it deserves. Why? Because, in the almost two years since its launch as a brand, Savage X Fenty has proven time and again that all bodies deserve to feel sexy, regardless of height, weight, body type, gender, ableness, and color. Because of this, it is so vital that diversity is represented, by all means possible, in the marketing of fashion brands. Even more so in the lingerie and swimwear industries, which have been historically known to portray specific and impossibly attainable body types. Women, in general, are tired of the age-old systematic body censorship that fashion has been promoting. For this reason, mainstream brands must acknowledge the fact that the paradigm is shifting. If anything, this change provides consumers hope regarding the future of fashion. Is inclusivity the next big thing? I certainly hope so, and, anyway, it looks like it.