I shop a LOT at Revolve. You can close your eyes and point at a product and I’d wear it. That said, over the years there have been questions about diversity and inclusion at the brand – from influencer retreats to corporate leadership positions. It seemed, frankly, whitewashed.
In January of 2018, Essence published this article by Valerie Eguavoen, a Black, plus-sized fashion blogger. I highly encourage you to read it. She describes how an Instagram post between friends pointing out lack of diversity in Revolve’s feed ballooned into a much-needed collective conversation about the brand’s approach to beauty. Her hashtag, #RevolveSoWhite (after the infamous #OscarsSoWhite) even trended for a time.
Since 2018, they’ve patched up their image a bit with PR statements and adding a few women of color to their high-profile influencer trips, and slipped out of the headlines. But it always nagged at me, even though no one talked about it, and every time I entered my credit card info on their site, it would itch the back of my brain. But since I hadn’t heard any bad press since the initial reports, I thought it must not be an issue anymore. No headline, no problem, right?
Wrong. What a fool I was. It was clear to anyone paying attention that the brand’s attempts at diversifying, even in the broadest sense, were half-hearted and patchy. I had noticed the token models and influencers, sprinkled in sparingly, as if there were only just enough Black models and influencers to meet some low, arbitrary quota set by corporate. It was not convincing, not even to me at the time.
Black Out Tuesday
After George Floyd’s murder, Revolve participated in Black Out Tuesday, posting a black square on their Instagram page and declaring their intentions of listening to and learning from the Black community and the Black Lives Matter movement. For me, and for many others, Revolve’s post was devoid of any real meaning. It rattled something loose in me, it just didn’t feel genuine. I realized that I couldn’t buy from them anymore – so I said as much in the comments.
A fellow commenter on the same post pointed me to an Instagram story from a blogger at a Revolve event. The story had been filmed a year ago, and was reposted in light of the conversations around diversity in corporate America and the media. What it revealed did not bode well for Revolve and their pleas of sincerity.
The Story
In the story Vic Styles, a Black style blogger, asked a Revolve panel about plans to diversify the influencers they work with. Simple question, right? How could they possibly screw that up?
Well, let me tell you: they managed to screw it up real good.
The panel’s response was that diversity didn’t fit with Revolve’s brand model.
Wow.
That confirmed everything for me. The fact that they have Black style bloggers who are interested in working with them, that Black consumers are spending money with them, that there is CLEARLY a market there (if we want to look just at economics, which we shouldn’t, but here we find ourselves), and they still denied the significance of the Black community.
The Apology Post
So I wrote them a letter (here’s a template should you want to do the same). Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one, not by a long shot.
The brand quickly issued an apology post on Instagram, which I’ve posted below. It was carefully worded, branded even, and hit all the major apology boxes: recognition, humility, reconciliatory steps in donation form, and acknowledgement of the fact that only actions can truly right the situation.
Changes (?)
Following the apology, Revolve launched an informal campaign on their Instagram introducing the Revolve audience to influencers from all around the world who work with the brand, highlighting in particular women of color. Their feed is now flush with Brown and Black faces, different body shapes, and different hair types.
A cynical part of me wonders if this served to push the negatively received posts down their feed, but even if that were true, Revolve did take concrete steps toward inclusivity – at least in the short term.
Time, of course, will tell: should they revert back to primarily white influencers and models, it would be telling of their motives – and many of us (!!!) would be up in ARMS (after putting away our wallets, one would hope).
LaQuan Smith
Last week, Revolve announced a partnership with LaQuan Smith, a Black designer whose bread-and-butter is the high-end luxury market. They’ve launched a capsule collection with Smith, which while small, is significant in that it features Black models wearing Black-designed pieces heavily influenced by the Black culture in Brooklyn, Smith’s base. While not inexpensive, the items in the capsule collection are significantly more affordable than Smith’s normal fare, meaning more people support a Black-run design house.
So – does this fix the problem?
What a dumb question. Of course not.
Revolve’s Diversity Problem: What We Need to Do From Here
A more diverse Instagram feed, a collaboration with a Black designer – these are all wonderful steps towards meaningful inclusion of the Black community in Revolve’s world. That said, they are nowhere near enough to establish lasting, foundational diversity at every level of the organization.
If you come to this blog, it’s likely that you also shop at Revolve – and Revolve is not going to change unless we (the customers) demand they do so. Everything we’ve seen so far could easily fade into memory as a PR stunt with no real legs.
What we want to see is TRUE diversity and inclusion. This means adequate representation (“adequate” meaning hovering around general demographics) across all levels of the organization. It isn’t enough to hire Black models or partner with Black influencers. They must ALSO sell Black-owned brands and have a workforce with adequate Black representation at every level, including the C-suite.
Proposed ACTION:
- Stop buying from Revolve and let them know that they won’t see our money until REAL changes are made, specifically:
- Ask that they participate in Pull Up or Shut Up and The Fifteen Percent Pledge (more details in this post). This would require them to go deeper than tokenizing Black talent for their own benefit. In fact, it would have lasting, long-term benefits for the brand AND their customer base. Let’s get them to COMMIT!
- Write a letter and send it to ceo@revolve.com or via snail mail: Eminent, Inc., 12889 Moore St. Cerritos, CA 90703
Downloadable TEMPLATE to Grease the Wheels
If writing sounds daunting, I customized the Brand Accountability template and made one tailored to Revolve. Download it here and be sure to customize it before you hit send!
Any edits are welcome – this template is community property!
Thoughts, questions, corrections, improvements? Let me know!
love,
Stig.
