Fast-fashion brand PrettyLittleThing is making a lot of noise and not because of its sales. Last week, it announced a rebrand, which didn’t go over well with customers. The bright, colorful looks that helped popularize its aesthetic have been wiped from its Instagram and replaced with beige and brown dresses and the muted color of the moment, butter yellow. So what, exactly, is going on?
What is PrettyLittleThing?
PrettyLittleThing is a U.K.-based retailer known for clingy, colorful, and affordable clubwear and vacation pieces. Its website used to feature an extensive plus-size collection and regularly included women of color and curvy models. The brand has done a number of fashion shows, including a New York Fashion Week show with Naomi Campbell in 2023 and a Miami Swim Week show in 2022.
What is the rebrand about?
In early March, customers noticed a shift in the styles and models. The clothes were more modest and conservative, including austere blazers, pantsuits, and sweater sets in muted colors. The familiar models, mostly women of color, have been replaced by thin white women with “clean-girl makeup” and soft updos. (Think trad-wife era over BBL era.)
Even the site design has shifted: The formerly pink, white, and black website is now shades of brown. The official sign of the new era appeared during Paris Fashion Week with a glitzy, star-studded party the brand hosted. It was easy to mistake the fast-fashion label for a high-end fashion house, especially since models Jasmine Tookes, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Naomi Campbell were on the guest list. A press release for the party stated that “this soirée offered a glimpse into the brand’s refreshed identity following its ambitious rebrand: a new era that seamlessly marries trend-driven energy with refined sophistication.”
What are people saying online?
Those most skeptical of the rebrand include PrettyLittleThing’s former target audience, who argue that the look and the prices have changed but the quality has not. The materials are still predominantly polyester, which most shoppers are critical of. Fabrics aside, the shift toward a more covered-up look accurately displays the political rise of conservatism.
@abbeysaundersss Sorry not sorry 😂😂😂 PLT this rebranding … really??? Sorry but I actually can’t with this! They were my fave for go to edgy rave bits, soz won’t be seen in the rave like that 😂 #plt #prettylittlething #rave #fyp #viral #pltrebranding #tiktokraverzz #tiktokravers
♬ sonido original - soy liseth duque emprendedora
One Twitter user said, “Every model is skinny, every model is white (minus one), and plus sizes are basically gone. This rebrand feels elitist and racist. This is terrible.”
While conservatism is rising outside the fashion world, impacting trends whether we want it to or not, why does the site where we’ve shopped for fun clothes have to shift alongside it?
@elysiaberman My thoughts on the @prettylittlething rebrand as a creative director. It’s a nice logo, I’ll give them that, but it has nothing to do with the actual brand. We wanted to see changes in sustainability efforts and ethical labor practices. Not just some new colors and a pretty logotype. #prettylittlething #fastfashion #overconsumption #rebrand #creativedirector #brandidentity #creativedirection #graphicdesign
♬ original sound - elysiaberman
@0yiza there’s so many african brands to shop from so i don’t mind PLT doing their thing bc my moneys going elsewhere! #fyp #fashion #prettylittlething #plt
♬ original sound - ishioma
@whatzaraloves6 PLT I am intrigued to see how this rebrand plays out…. 🦄#pltrebrand #plt #prettylittlething #sustainablefashion
♬ original sound - ⭐️Whatzaraloves🇵🇸