The Aerie Effect

The Aerie we all know and love has turned the fashion industry upside down with its body positivity and diversity campaigns. When it comes to loving our bodies, Aerie really was the trendsetter, inspiring countless other brands to reevaluate their brand messaging and merchandise inclusivity. To start, let’s jump into what makes Aerie’s campaigns so captivating and influential to young women.

Eight years ago, Aerie launched the #AerieREAL campaign, which featured unretouched photos of their models to celebrate natural beauty. This was especially groundbreaking in the industry considering that Aerie is a lingerie, swimwear and loungewear brand. Aerie embodies its mission statement and philosophy to “build confidence in women, foster an inclusive community and protect our planet to make the world a better place for all” by including all skin colors and body shapes in this campaign.

Unlike many brands of their stature, Aerie acknowledges the platform they have at hand. For the last 10 years, they have been giving back and engaging in corporate social responsibility. They have shown their commitment to organizations like the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), Bright Pink and the Special Olympics with millions of dollars in donations. They are now taking the initiative to an even bigger cause by establishing the Aerie Real Foundation. They focus on giving grants to grassroots organizations in local communities, supporting national causes and providing educational experiences to younger girls and women.

Aerie is kicking off spring with a new PSA (and no, not a public service announcement). They launched the Positive Scrolling Always campaign in an effort to continue empowering women on social media despite a vast majority of posts and influencers being negative. It pays homage to the importance of mental health and emphasizes sharing authentic, unfiltered advice to women on social media.

Brands like Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie were notorious for fat-shaming and solely highlighting stick-thin models in their campaigns and marketing. For years, consumers watched in awe as the Victoria’s Secret Angels strutted down the runway for the televised yearly fashion show. While the models were beaming and glowing, what you did not see was their starvation, exhaustion and defeat. Consumers began to realize that they did not want to support brands that knocked women down and only made products for a single body type. After dealing with a dramatic loss of sales and negative press attention, Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie decided to jump on the body-positive bandwagon. All consumers wanted was to be able to see people who look like them wearing the clothes and look at that — Abercrombie and Victoria’s Secret are back and better than ever thanks to the inspiring ideas of Aerie.

Aerie is continuing to kick a** one cute pair of flare pants at a time. Remember: you’re not supposed to fit into your clothes, your clothes are supposed to fit you. #AerieReal is The Edge approved!