Brandy Melville: Considerations and Concerns

The sound of the words 'Brandy Melville' are enough to make any teen girl shoot her head up as quickly as she looks back down in shame.

My first interaction with the brand was at around 13 years old; I saw a friend tag the enigmatic account in her daily ‘outfit inspiration’ post. Upon visiting the account I was struck by confusion: “Is this a clothing brand’s advertisement? Or a young girl’s personal blog?” In 2015, the page was filled with amateurly photographed, thin, white girls covered by the haze of an Instagram filter. I was surprised to see that many of the girls featured on their page weren’t ‘traditional’ models; they were seemingly average girls posting their outfits, just as my friend was. I asked said friend about this and was met with a simple response. “Yeah. If they like your picture, they’ll post it on their Instagram. You can get a bunch of followers if they notice you”. Interesting. I wanted to be a part of this ‘in group’; the representations of this brand hooked me with its mysterious, youthful naivete. The girls on their page seemed effortlessly pretty, like the ones you were a bit jealous of walking around school. I wanted to carry that air. I asked my mom to take me to the mall after class. 

My anticipation to show off my soon-to-be new outfit was unparalleled. I had begged my Mom under the pretense of: “Please!! It’s what all the cool girls are wearing! Plus my grades are really good right now!” Upon entering the PacSun, my eyes shot straight to the back table which housed the ‘exclusive’ Brandy Melville items. The strange thing was, it truly wasn't special clothing of any kind. Graphic tees, skinny jeans, floral printed camisoles; my Mom was a bit unnerved at how badly I wanted these items, even more confused about how they could possibly impact my social standing at school. I then had the grave realization that nearly every teenage girl experiences: “Wait, why aren’t there other sizes?” I sheepishly chose a pair of pants I knew wouldn’t fit me, tried them on, and asked to leave as soon as I left the dressing room. I returned to the Brandy Melville Instagram with disdain, but chose to begin following them as well.

This experience seems to be contradictory to those in the same era: when the rise of the body positive narrative began to reach mainstream. I was seeing more girls in advertising I felt that I could relate to, but why did I feel such a strong pull towards a brand that was so obviously exclusionary? Why do so many young women feel the same way? Brandy Melville's has been seen as a ‘black sheep’ in the fast fashion industry for the past ten or so years, never failing to come up as a point in conversations surrounding inclusivity in advertising. Processing Brandy Melville in relation to my correlating of digital identities to fashion advertising targeted at Gen-Z consumers in both North America and Asia stands as an extremely important case study on consumer behavior and advertising ethics. 

So, how does Brandy Melville work? 

Let's begin with a general overview of Brandy Melville. It’s an Italian brand which expanded to the US in 2009 and China in 2019 (Nanda, 2020). Internationally, there are around 100 retail locations alongside small sections in PacSun and Nordstrom- and they have an annual growth rate of 25% (Nanda, 2020). It’s considered to be a fast-fashion brand, yet has higher prices compared to brands such as SHEIN or Forever 21. On top of it all, Brandy Melville clothing can be spotted with a 300% markup rate on second hand clothing platforms such as Depop (Nanda, 2020). How did this brand create such a high value for itself? 

In an interview with a Brandy Melville employee from the student-run magazine Intertext at Syracuse University, a worker stated: “Brandy is like the smartest f****** company in the entire world… In terms of the fact that their overhead is so low because to make sizes costs so much more than to not make sizes… They didn’t care about the backlash because it was inspirational and aspirational..” (Roller, 2023). This information surprised me; it was something I had never thought about. A common reason for people to shop fast-fashion is due to its more inclusive sizing. With garments being created at a cheap cost, there is more money to be spent in creating more sizes. Brandy Melville decided to flip this ideology on its head to create a fast-fashion company that profits incredibly from its sense of exclusivity. 

The Finishing Touch 

So, what is the secret sauce that drives teen girls insane? It would have to be accurate yet exclusive trend forecasting in both digital and retail space; without the help of paid advertising. Let me explain this a bit further; I’ll begin with the culture behind Brandy Melville's unique brick and mortar locations. 

Upon entering a Brandy Melville location you are met with piles of simple clothing and young, attractive, usually white, non-confrontational women. Or perhaps girls I should say; an excerpt from Roller’s writing containing the interview with the employee stated: 

“I was fourteen… People always think I’m younger…I walked in, and this blonde girl who was really, really, really skinny came up to me. And was like ‘Can we take a picture of you?’ And I was like, okay. And then they were like, ‘Do you have a job? How old are you?’ And I was like, “‘Oh, I’m fourteen, I don’t have a job.’ They were like ‘We would love for you to work here,’ and I was like, ‘okay.’” (Roller, 2023)

Upon receiving the job offer, she was asked for her Instagram handle, phone number, and email address. She was hired through Instagram direct message, without an interview (Roller, 2023). This hiring tactic shows how Brandy Melville carefully chooses their employees to represent the store, and it's based solely on physical looks.

In a Business of Fashion piece written by M.C. Nanda there is a section which focuses on Brandy Melville and expands on this concept of how their young employees are the backbone of this company. One 16 year-old told the company: “If a store employee or shopper had a noticeable outfit, their photos were taken and sent to the department to replicate and produce. “Let’s say there’s a cut of a T-shirt that’s doing really well, they’ll ask our opinion on it. Do we like it? Should we make more? If so, what colors?” (Nanda, 2020). By using the keen eye of Gen-Z employees, Brandy Melville is able to more accurately predict future trends, while also building a sense of community and loyalty among shoppers. 

Brandy Melville’s Digital Presence

Finally, we arrive at digital advertising; or lack of advertising to be more specific. When looking at Brandy Melville’s digital footprint, we can see that there are certain types of people representing their items. They’re usually either employees or customers, sometimes an occasional ‘niche’ Instagram influencer; but there aren't any ambassadors or campaigns. Their presence is very low-key, and unlike other brands popular with Gen-Z, they remain silent on all political or social issues (Nanda, 2020). Along with that, the avoidance of paid advertising and the reliance on user-generated content, as Nanda states, is a strategic move because: “younger generations are becoming more critical to traditional advertising”. Following this Nanda says: “Brandy Melville avoids criticism by creating advertisements with minimal glitz and glamor” (2020). In a sense, this adds relatability to these ‘advertisements’; as if you could re-create the images yourself with your friends. With the images seeming so low effort, young women feel that they could also have the opportunity to look like a “Brandy Girl”; their innocent branding is their marketing. 

These remarks by Nanda show the changing landscape of digital marketing. Since Gen-Z is “so aware” of how they are being targeted, counterintuitive or even brash advertisements tend to engage us in this mind-dulling attention economy. We all know that shocking imagery will lead to more clicks; perhaps the shock of romanticized emaciated white women in delicate clothing is enough to pique curiosity. After all, compared to modern fashion advertising, Brandy Melville by no doubt sticks out. 

Brandy Melville in China 

Interestingly, we can see a similar trend on the other side of the world. A paper by Zheran Liu released in 2023 questions the impact Brandy Melville has had on China through interviews with both consumers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOL’s) between the ages of 19-30. These interviews provide interesting points of contrast from American opinions, but also show similarities between the two international markets. 

As of 2019, Brandy Melville was introduced to the Chinese market through influencer advertising on the platforms Douyin and Xiaohongshu (Nanda, 2020). Rather conversely to Brandy Melville’s western approach to advertising, Brandy Melville in China boosted themselves to popularity through using popular influencers. Despite this, they remained keen to the established visual language produced by American Brandy Melvilles: "In China, white is regarded as beauty since ancient times, and the delicate figure and harmless young face are even more popular" (Liu, 2023). Back in reference to their marketing tactics, a strong example would be the fact that “local celebrities” are seen wearing and posting images of their outfits with the ‘BM” hashtag (Nanda, 2020). One of these popular local celebrities are Yang Mi, who has about 111 Million followers on popular Chinese social media app Weibo (Liu, 2023). An interviewee stated : “I do like Yang Mi, and most of my friends love her BM outfits… I have been a fan of Yang Mi for about 5 years… she is quite suitable for BM style, which makes this brand even more famous. I think she suits the BM brand style quite well and this has attracted more consumers” (Liu, 2023). Another interviewee followed this up by saying “young and beautiful bodies are the capital of stars and Internet celebrities” (Liu, 2023).

Maybe you’ve noticed, but this celebrity tactic is quite opposite of what seems to be effective in the west. This change in advertising is reflective of differing cultural values. In studying international advertising, the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions scale is used to compare and contrast different cultures on the basis of 6 values. The one most applicable in this situation would be the concept of “Power Distance” which is defined as: “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally” (Hofstede, 2023). China receiving a score of 80 and the United States receiving a score of 40 displays how China is more receptive to social authority being representative of trustworthiness while the United States is less receptive to this sentiment. In other words, Chinese consumers wouldn’t be nearly as interested in the American advertisements that consist of minimal glamor and celebrity; this ‘relatability’ would most likely work against the brand.

Now? 

No matter where in the world you are, it doesn’t seem that Brandy Melville will slow down in terms of popularity anytime soon. The cultural phenomenon of this brand is a complex topic for me to grapple with, and reading about it has left me with more questions than answers. In the meantime, we may ask ourselves what to do with this new information on consumer behavior and counterintuitive marketing practices. Are we going backwards in our cultural effort to promote inclusivity and body positivity? What will be the next major brand to exploit the bodily anxieties of young women? What does Brandy Melville’s success tell us about the many ways fashion advertising can change, for better or for worse? Overall, I believe that Brandy Melville’s use of bodies in a way that is perceived to be neutral due to the lack of glamorization is dangerous; thin and white are not the standard, and should not be presented to be seen that way. It is essential that we begin to question and challenge these presentations of normality, because in reality, one size does not fit all. 

References: 

Hofstede, Geert. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind: Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival. McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison-tool?countries=china%2Cunited+states

Liu, Zerhan. (2023). Research on the Use of Social Media to Grasp Consumers’ Psychology and Create Traffic: A Case Study of Brandy Melville. SHS Web of Conferences. DOI: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2023/04/shsconf_sdmc2022_02017.pdf 

Nanda, M. C. (2020). Gen-Z shopping: Separating myth from reality. Business of Fashion. DOI: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/http://thinkific-import-development.s3.amazonaws.com/8603/GenZShoppingSeparatingMythfromReality-201007-150632.pdf 

Roller, Cecilia. (2023). Brandy Melville: An Analysis. Intertext Volume 31. DOI: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1478&context=intertext