PrettyLittleThing‘s demure shift is the beginning of the end. Okay, so that’s a bit dramatic, but the brand did announce it will be entering a new era, prioritizing more adult and grown-up silhouettes while adopting a new tagline, “A Legacy in Progress.” Users on TikTok were quick to comment on this uncharacteristic rebrand.
Some were quick to clock it as a shallow attempt to distance itself from its unsavory connotations as a fast-fashion brand, now posturing as a luxe label.
Others seemed excited that the brand was seemingly moving away from “club clothes” and toward more “classy” pieces suitable for “church” and “business meetings.”
Far be it from me to get all sanctimonious about the harms of fast fashion. After all, there are still a few PLT pieces hanging up in my closet right now that were purchased long before my fashion frontal lobe developed. He who is without sin, am I right? Still, there is a deep irony in seeing the internet declare that a fast fashion brand that operates on an exploitative business model is classy because they started selling more blazers and beige blouses. Generally speaking, fashion brands change up their MO a lot, so PLT’s modest mami switcheroo isn’t that surprising. What makes this shift so curious, though, is the tandem cultural pivot toward all things conservative, traditional and, no matter how you slice it, regressive.
Online, influencers are peddling “tradwife” content, encouraging young women to eagerly and earnestly disenfranchise themselves by becoming financially reliant on their male partners in the name of living a “soft life.” All the while, said influencers are making money off of this “Stay at Home” content, which adds a layer of deception to the whole thing.
Similarly, many creators seem all too eager to ditch the “baddie” or “BBL” aesthetics that catapulted them into digital superstardom, and now the terms BBL and baddie are experiencing a racial debasing similar to what has happened to phrases like DEI and BLM.
Couple this with the rise in conservative politics from Trump that includes demolishing transgender rights and rolling back diversity efforts on just about every level; it’s deeply unsettling to see brands conform to this right-leaning shift.
Independently, there is nothing wrong with wanting to switch up your aesthetic and craft your wardrobe to reflect the era you’re in at the time. But nothing exists in a vacuum, and trends tell us a lot about where we’re headed as a society and what we’re seeing on a macro and micro level is troubling on every level.
