What to know about a new documentary raising concerns about the Brandy Melville brand

Brandy Melville attracts hordes of teen shoppers hungry for its beachy, on-trend, inexpensive clothes.

But a new documentary alleges that its laid-back vibe is hiding problematic business practices.

“Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion,” released on Max in April, uses investigative journalist Kate Taylor’s 2021 Business Insider expose as a launch pad to dive deeper into the Brandy Melville brand.

Filmmakers take a two-pronged approach, exploring how Brandy Melville contributes to the fast-fashion industry and the brand’s alleged discriminatory practices.

“I’m hoping parents watch this and are horrified,” Eva Orner, the documentary’s director, told The New York Times.

Representatives from Brandy Melville have not responded to multiple requests for comment, according to the Times and other outlets.

Brandy Melville dates back to the 1970s, but teen interest in the brand ballooned during the late 2010s as supermodels such as Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner repped the brand’s clothing.

As explained in the film, teenage girls wanted to wear Brandy Melville because it made them feel “cool” and “accepted” and “because everyone else liked it.” The brand has continued to flourish among young girls and women in recent years, who discuss and show off the products on social media.

Here are key takeaways from HBO’s Brandy Melville documentary.

1. There are limited details about the brand’s leadership

Details regarding the beginnings of Brandy Melville are almost entirely unavailable. Investigative journalist Kate Taylor wrote that even after deeply researching the brand, she struggled to uncover information on the CEO, brand mission statement or overall brand persona.

Taylor identified Stephan Marsan, an Italian man, as the CEO. The brand used social media, specifically Instagram, to raise popularity but Marsan has almost no online presence.

“How do you run this business that’s all around the world — there are over a hundred stores — that is all over the internet, all over social media, and this guy has never done an interview? He doesn’t exist. And that’s very purposeful and crafted,” Orner said, per The Guardian.

2. The brand has a ‘one size fits most’ policy

Brandy Melville makes clothes in only one size. The single available size is not categorized because the brand follows a “one size fits most” policy. When compared to conventionally sized clothing, the one size offered by Brandy Melville is similar to a typical size small or extra-small.

Initially, the brand claimed a “one size fits all” policy, but when that was proven false, the policy was amended to “one size fits most,” according to the documentary.

Several former employees who spoke out in the documentary claimed to feel an intense pressure to be thin enough to fit into the brand’s clothing. Some women described suffering from eating disorders while working for the brand.

The pressure to fit into Brandy’s single-size clothing extends to young customers, the documentary claims.

3. Senior leadership allegedly exchanged racist and antisemitic messages

More than 30 members of Brandy Melville’s senior leadership were allegedly part of a group chat titled “Brandy Melville gags.” Members of the text chain exchanged “pornography, photos of Hitler, and memes featuring the N-word,” Taylor reports in the Business Insider article.

“Holocaust and Nazi references appeared frequently. Hitler was mentioned 24 times in the more than 150 screenshots ‘Insider’ viewed,” Taylor noted in her article.

4. Brandy Melville has been accused of discrimination

The documentary alleges that Brandy Melville stores favor thin and white employees and customers.

White employees were typically assigned to work the floor, three former employees claimed, according to The New York Times, while people of color were assigned to work in less-visible zones such as the stock room.

Marsan and other company leaders have not responded to these allegations.

5. The documentary critiques fast fashion

“Brandy Hellville” criticizes how Brandy Melville produces its clothes, highlighting the problem of waste in the fashion industry as a whole.

“There are too many clothes on the planet. We overproduce. We make 100bn garments that are produced annually globally. And most of those are in landfill within the first year,” Orner told The Guardian.

In the interview and in the documentary, Orner encouraged consumers to adopt more sustainable shopping practices.

“Buy natural fibers and secondhand, avoid polyester, recycle and reuse, keep your clothes out of a landfill as long as possible,” The Guardian reported.

Watch: Trailer for ‘Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion’

“Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion” is available to stream on Max.

It is rated PG-13 for some language and adult topics.