The Sociology Research Forum hosts David Pettinicchio (University of Toronto) for a presentation titled, “Consumer Attitudes about Diversity and Inclusion in the Fashion Industry.”
Abstract: People with disabilities have been largely absent from appearance industries. In the fashion industry, where “looks are unstable” and consumer preferences are thought to be “fundamentally unknown,” producers rely on extant conventions justified by consumer ambiguity. As such, the exclusion of diverse bodies is purposefully designed to maximize profit and minimize risk. Producers within the industry seldom diverge from industry norms and conventions or from existing market successes, trusting instead that “safe-bets” will generate “hits.” Cultural production is also constrained by existing aesthetic preferences surrounding how these products ought to look and what their looks should convey to consumers. In practice, this has meant excluding people of colour, older people, plus-sized people, trans people, and people with disabilities from images and representations of fashion and beauty. Nevertheless, change appears to be on the horizon. People with disabilities have recently appeared in advertising campaigns for major brands and in 2018, Teen Vogue’s September issue featured three models with disabilities. There are two broad ways to conceptualize these trends. One is that consumers are demanding greater inclusion and diversity and producers have heeded their call. The other is supply-oriented – that innovative and entrepreneurial producers (i.e., gatekeepers) are seeking to push boundaries by including diverse bodies in their campaigns. These accounts are not mutually exclusive. This project draws from two original surveys: one of consumers, the other of producers. In this talk, we focus on the consumer-based survey asking (among other things) consumers to evaluate a sample of fashion models. Respondents considered which models are most appropriate for a new fashion advertising campaign and why, and whether they thought an editor of a mainstream fashion publication would select a given model for the magazine’s cover. Our preliminary analyses reveal a complex and nuanced picture about how consumers make sense of their own position towards inclusion and diversity and how they perceive industry leaders’ role in inclusion and diversity efforts.