Topshop Might Love Adele (But Not Enough to Sell Clothing in Her Size)
As one commenter pointed out: “Except you make no clothes that would fit her.” (Photo: @topshop/Instagram)
Adele is so hot right now that she’s basically like an eternal flame with hungry moths salivating around her. While the singer famously shuns endorsement deals, that hasn’t prevented companies from attempting to profit off of her image. Most recently, Topshop wrote an appreciation post on the company’s blog praising the multi-talented artist. Undoubtedly, Adele’s loved — so how did this article become embroiled in controversy? By inadvertently pointing out one of the brand’s biggest flaws: its lack of size diversity.
To promote the story on social media, the retailer tweeted, “2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? @Adele!” While cute, many were quick to point out the irony. “12, 14, 16, 18, make some clothes real people fit in,” Ben Swattermain replied. Cat Shannon added, “18, 20, 22 — these sizes ain’t included by you.” Sophie Tassew told Topshop, “I thought you were just listing the sizes of clothes you make but I appreciate her too.” And Jennifer noted that obviously Topshop doesn’t appreciate her “enough to, you know, make clothes she could wear? Ouch.”
Topshop has run into similar trouble before. Beth Ditto was approached by the company to perform at the opening of its flagship in London a few years ago, but turned down the business opportunity. “I don’t think it’s fair to put my face somewhere where they would never let me in there to wear their clothes,” the singer shared in a blog post. “They don’t want to dress people that look like me, that have a normal body, a bigger body, whatever.” She even offered to design the clothes herself.
Some clothiers in the same class as Topshop, such as H&M and Forever21, have aligned with the times and introduced plus and extended sizes. Yet Topshop still, generally, only offers items up to a size 12.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
