Launched in 2014, Fashion Nova has amassed an almost cult-like following among celebrities, social media influencers and everyday women wanting to keep up with the latest Instagram-worthy trends without breaking the bank. While some fashion brands are focusing on building sustainable, ethical practices, Fashion Nova capitalises on today’s throwaway fast-fashion culture, creating much-hyped looks that are often worn specifically for social media. “The clothes are easy, thin, fast and throwaway, because of the ‘Instagram era’ of wearing things once – no one sees the point in investment pieces,” says fashion stylist and presenter Basma Khalifa.
The brand was thrust even further into the mainstream zeitgeist when American rapper, Cardi B referenced the brand in a lyric to She Bad – “Boujee, bad, and thick, I could buy designer, but this Fashion Nova fit” – celebrating the brand’s capability in catering to ‘thicc’ body types, and its appeal in comparison to the expensive designer brands it outpaced in 2017 online searches. Cardi B further declared her love for the brand in a YouTube interview, saying: “You want to know something? Fashion Nova is one of the only things that fits my body. These high-end designers, I love them, but none of their jeans fit this ass.”
At a time when YouTube and Instagram are the second and third most popular social media platforms around the world, fashion brands are increasingly turning their attention to visual media to build up their customer bases and maintain relevance. Fashion Nova isn’t the only pure-play fashion e-tailer to win big on providing fast fashion for an Instagram-ready generation. SHEIN and Zaful are two global fast-fashion brands that heavily rely on online influencer promotion through YouTube and Instagram, leading them to become similarly popular among Gen Y and Z girls. @Zaful has 2.4 million Instagram followers, while @sheinofficial has 3.9 million and sees 12.9% of its traffic come from referrals and over 50% of its social traffic coming from YouTube. And Instagram is where it’s at for online marketing; on average, apparel brands gain 13.71 interactions per 1,000 followers per post compared to 0.43 on Facebook.
While it’s not made explicit in its mission, Fashion Nova is feeding into the body diversity movement in fashion, with its championing of ethnic minority, curvy women, who often don’t see themselves represented in ads for the likes of designer brands such as Dior or Vetements, or even high-street staples in the US such as Forever 21 or Abercrombie & Fitch. “If I can't find a go-to denim, which I normally can't find go-to denim for her from a high-end designer, Fashion Nova always has a perfect denim for her. They cater to women with curves,” says Kollin Carter, Cardi B’s stylist, in Cosmopolitan. Khalif, on the other hand, mentions that the inclusion of curvier women points more towards a trend, rather than genuine body positivity: “I just think its the way the tide turns. Ten years ago, supermodel stick thin was in. Now curves are in. Body types are just as trend led as clothes.”
Fashion Nova is thriving at a time when, as the brand’s founder and CEO, Richard Saghian notes, “the runways are dying,” pointing to the fact that traditional catwalk shows at Fashion Weeks are becoming less of a staple event for established fashion houses. “If you think about it, why did they have runways before? Because there was no internet. People are now looking at their feed for fashion inspiration more than they are the runways,” Saghian adds. And it’s true: 35% of Gen Y women say social media is one of the top influencers when deciding what clothes to buy, with over a third of them looking to YouTube and Instagram specifically for style inspo.
What’s really contributed to Fashion Nova’s success is its ability to organically fit into America’s cultural zeitgeist, where the influence of black culture and its penetration of fashion, music and memes is undeniable – in 2018, hip-hop and RnB overtook rock as America’s most popular music genre. And with celebrities such as Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and Blac Chyna seen wearing and endorsing the brand on Instagram, Fashion Nova maintains relevance and hype among the very people who spend most of their time on the internet, immersed in that culture. “The contributions to its success are about choosing their target market,” says Khalifa. “Targeting the Black/hip-hop era that has suddenly become the ‘IT’ thing is intuitive. Everyone wants a bit of Cardi B and Rihanna in their lives… For me, when I think of Fashion Nova, I think of Cardi B, because if we’re honest, no-one had heard of it before her.”
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