Inside the Industry

Turning a body type into a brand’s signature is standard beauty marketing, but advertising only one shape plays on our insecurities and tells us there is one look that counts as normal. When we only see one physique in shops and ads, our brains quietly turn it into the standard we compare ourselves to. Fit, slim, curvy is too often portrayed as the perfect measure when multiple body types exist. Showing one body type is not the problem.

Ever stepped into a fitting room and felt your confidence drop instantly? That reaction isn’t personal. It is a well documented response shared more widely than most realise. Millions of shoppers experience insecurity, frustration and disappointment in fitting rooms, and most assume it is an individual problem. In reality, it is the environment itself, intentionally designed to trigger predictable psychological responses.

We have been chasing youth for centuries. From legends of the fountain of youth to billion-pound industries built on the promise of turning back time, the obsession never went away. It only changed form. Today, it is bottled in “anti-ageing” creams, filtered selfies, and airbrushed campaigns that teach us that growing older is a problem to fix.

Feeling good in your skin isn’t the same as promoting a severely underweight frame and calling it a “healthy, toned physique.” In recent campaigns, Zara, Next, and M&S crossed that line. The 2025 M&S ad emphasised the model’s pointed shoes to draw attention to her thin legs, while Zara showcased a drawn, hollow face — a look that pushes unhealthy thinness as a criterion for style.