Swimsuits for All launched in the United States in 2005 with a different premise: that the full range of bodies deserved actual swimwear rather than a polite nod toward extended sizing.

For most of the late 20th century, anti-aging skincare sold fear and aspiration in roughly equal measure. The fear was of becoming visibly older; the aspiration was a smoother, firmer version of the face, often lighter-skinned in markets where skin tone was also being sold as something to improve.

For most of the last few decades, intimates advertising had a clear and consistent message: if you don't look like this, lingerie is not for you. The target market was a specific woman: tall, thin, and seductive in a very particular way. Everything else was a begrudged size extension— until a handful of brands decided that lingerie is for every body and inclusivity in fashion should be the norm.

Nala launched with a straightforward premise: real bodies, real sizing, real diversity. That sounds simple, but most brands avoid doing it consistently because it changes the whole shopping interface. It is not a one-off campaign theme that appears once and disappears when the feed moves on— it is the default imagery, the sizing language, the way products are explained, and the way customers are expected to find their fit without feeling like they are the problem.

One might think the lingerie industry had already shown every version of the same fantasy, but Thistle and Spire challenged it at its own game. Launched in 2015, the brand pushed back against repetitive lingerie marketing by centring the individual as the occasion and showing bras, bodysuits and other pieces on a wider range of bodies. The point was not to sell one narrow look. It was to sell self-expression.

In 2017, Fenty Beauty launched with a foundation range most brands had avoided for years. It entered the market with shades that covered a far wider spectrum of skin tones than was typical at the time. That did more than fill a gap in one product category; it exposed a quiet design choice in beauty retail. Up to that point, many brands had simply decided that darker complexions were not worth the investment.