The life of a teenage girl is known to be full of spontaneous and unexpected adventures. However, societal acceptance plays a crucial role in this part of a girl’s lifetime. Brandy Melville, an American Italian women’s clothing brand by Stephan Marsan, was established in the 1970s, originally in Italy, eventually migrating to the United States. The brand’s popularity exploded on their Instagram platform, as teenage girls all over the world raved over the company’s tank tops, sweatpants or sweatshirts. “It’s kind of the majority of my closet. I buy a lot of their tank tops in the summer, and a lot of their hoodies,” discloses Lyla Gorny, Troy High School sophomore and frequent shopper at Brandy Melville.
In early 2024, HBO released “Brandy Hellville and the Cult of Fast Fashion,” a documentary exposing the many different angles and secrets behind the business. Kate Taylor, an Investigative Journalist for the Insider shares her opinion on Brandy Melvile during the film, “Fashion is identity for teenage girls. Brandy Melville was this whole extended universe, where it felt genuine because it was genuine.” As the demand for Brandy Melville increased with just simple images of women with the company’s merchandise on their Instagram, young girls would photograph themselves wearing the firm’s apparel, hoping they would be selected for a post on Brandy Melville’s social media platform. The organization created this idea where one should desire to be posted on their Instagram. That was until the documentary took a turn.
Marsan had a specific mindset for the representation his brand portrayed. Ultimately, the models and employees all generated the same look. An American, tall, blonde, skinny, white, surfer-girl look. Willow, a former photographer for the business who’s also quoted several times throughout the documentary, admits, “It was really hard to find models Stephan would like. I was really interested in girls with really unique facial features, but it was very clear the kind of models and aesthetic they wanted.”
Marsan was known for placing a specific type of girl in the front of his store, welcoming and supporting each customer, all while people of color were found in the stockrooms of each location. Kali, a former employee for Brandy Melville on Broadway in New York City, New York confirms on the documentary, “I started off as [a] fitting room, and then I eventually moved to stock. There were no white people working in the stockroom. We all knew it wasn’t right, that we were all you know pushed in the back out of sight. But it was not something we were necessarily mad about, because I just loved being around my people, like people of color.”
A major difference contrasting Brandy Melville significantly from other brands is its one size-fits-all sizing, limiting who can wear their apparel. Originally, the company began with selling clothing in one size, but when shoppers began complaining and hate towards them increased, Brandy Melville modified their sizing from one-size fits all to one-size fits most. Anonymous former Senior Vice President for Brandy Melville commented on the documentary, “After multiple weeks of complaining, we went from one-size fits all, to one-size fits most. We still had complaints because they’d go, “So I’m not even most?”” Many customers wondered if this change would decline the brand’s number in sales, but Marsan responded, “We are not losing sales. We are keeping the brand exclusive. Like, oh, I need to fit in these clothes.”
Meghan Kosters, Troy High School marketing teacher and former health teacher commented on this marketing strategy, “I think it definitely takes away business, especially because our society places so many different stereotypes on body image and body standards, and with mental health being on the rise, body issues or distortion, a lot of girls may look in the mirror and not be happy with themselves and then seeing the way that they should look, I think that it puts such a false image in their brains having that one size fits all mentality.”
Today, Brandy Melville has opened 94 locations across the world. At Brandy Melville’s location in Ann Arbor, Michigan, all employees agreed to sign a waiver promising to not comment about the documentary. Although the documentary may have influenced shoppers in several ways about purchasing from the firm, Brandy Melville thrives today from its popularity among teenage girls. As the legacy lives on, clothing companies such as SHEIN, have been found to have listed merchandise inspired by Brandy Melville’s style, proving its true influence on society today.
