Hoards of social media users are expressing their disappointment with Revolve after the fashion retailer sent a mostly-white group of bloggers and Instagrammers on a luxurious press trip – with no people of color included in the glamorous bunch.
This week, at least 15 popular social media influencers are enjoying sun, sand, and cocktails in Phuket, Thailand thanks to Revolve, a fashion company that flew them out there and put them up in order to promote the brand.
But after Revolve, a trendy fashion label that has previously collaborated with Chrissy Teigen, shared a group photo of the ladies posing together on the beach, dozens of other women have come out to slam the brand for excluding women of color.
Not a lot of melanin: Fashion retailer Revolve has come under fire after sending a group of influencers on a press trip — and not including a single woman of color
Shame: Pictures from the trip have earned plenty of likes, but not everyone is approving
Identical? Dozens have taken to the comments section to call Revolve out
Black girls, too, please! Several have quested the lack of diversity in the photos, saying they would have liked to see more women of color
Room for improvement: Most seemed exasperated and said the brand could ‘do better’
It’s not uncommon for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands to take members of the media on press trips. They can serve different purposes, from familiarizing media with a brand to providing insight into the inspiration for a product. They can also be a fun way to celebrate a new release.
More and more, brands are including social media influencers in the mix, using the trips as opportunities to reach the influencers’ millions of followers.
On January 6, Revolve welcomed at least 15 of these influencers to Phuket, Thailand for an exotic and luxurious vacation, which appears to have been organized, at least in part, in collaboration with OUAI, the haircare brand started by Jen Atkin, celebrity stylist to stars like Chrissy, as well as Kim Kardashian.
The influencers were flown out and put up in the Amanpuri hotel — a favorite of stars like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyonce, Jay Z, Mick Jagger, and Harrison Ford that can costs $595 to $3,050 a night.
Photos posted on Instagram show the group enjoying the pool and the beach, sipping cocktails, dressing up for nights out, and even heading out onto the water on a chartered boat.
What they don’t show, though, is a single woman of color — and fans of the brand have taken notice.
Busy: Revolve sent at least 15 influencers to Phuket, put them up in a fancy hotel, and are now keeping them entertained with drinks and boat rides
Skin tone: More than half of the women on the trip are white
On the trip: Devin Brugman (left) and Natasha Oakley (right) both came along
Makin’ a living: Hailey Caulson (left) and Kara Del Toro (right) got trips to Thailand too
Charges: People commented to say that they all had the same body type and similar skin tones, and those of other ethnicities are only ‘vaguely’ ethnic’
Money: Some called for boycotts of the brand for forgetting black customers
Not all-inclusive: Several also pointed out that Revolve books black entertainers and uses hip-hop songs and lyrics in posts, but didn’t include a black influencer in the mix
A group photo posted on January 7 on the brand’s official Instagram page is drawing the most attention and heat. Though it has earned over 28,000 and plenty of supportive comments, dozens of people pointed out that nearly all of the women pictured appear to be white, with a few Asians.
Commenters have taken Revolve to task for the lack of diversity, asking why black and Hispanic women weren’t invited.
‘Where is diversity? Only skinny light skins…’ wrote one. ‘Where them black, and more Hispanic ladies at though?’ asked another.
‘Revolve is just letting us know where they stand in times where diversity and unity are so important,’ wrote another. ‘They obviously aren’t OK with displaying women of color: Hispanic or Black bloggers.’
‘They all look the same…’ wrote yet another, echoing the sentiments of many.
‘Beautiful ladies!’ another chimed in. ‘[But] it would be amazing if there was more diversity. Not because of the publicity, but because you care about it! There are so many amazing style influencers who are women of color.’
Luxe life: The group stayed at a high-end hotel visited by Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, and Leonardo DiCaprio
The cast: Devin Brugman and Belen Hostalet were among influencers invited
Not all Caucasian: The group did include several Asian influencers as well
Skinny ladies: Others pointed out that there is no body diversity, either
The ladies: Aimee Song (left) is pictured having coffee with Mary Lawless Lee (right)
While the majority of the influencers (including Natasha Oakley, right) are white, there are also a few of other backgrounds, like Negin Mirsalhi (who is Iranian) (right)
Some also pointed out that Revolve frequently books black entertainment acts and includes hip-hop songs and lyrics in posts, but leaves people of color missing from ‘aspirational’ images like these.
‘Hmmmmm, no WOC in sight. But I’m sure you’ll all be rocking “boxer braids” and bringing in rappers for your entertainment,’ wrote one, hinting at a charge of cultural appropriation.
The line-up for the trip does, in fact, exclude black women entirely. However, it’s not completely homogeneous either — in fact, it appears that just over half of the influencers are white.
There’s model Kara Del Toro, style star Belen Hostalet, Australian model Natasha Oakley, Hailey Clauson, designer Lara Pia Arrobio, Devin Brugman, Mary Lawless Lee, Natalie Obradovich, and celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin (who was representing Revolve’s partner, OUAI), who all appear to be Caucasian.
Yet the trip also included several influencers with Asian ethnicities, as well as one with a Middle Eastern background.
Influencer Aimee Song is half-Japanese and half-Korean. Jenn Im is Korean American, Taya Rogers is Thai American, and model Rocky Barnes is both Mexican and Filipino.
Kim Kardashian’s former assistant Stephanie Shepherd is half Japanese, on her father’s side.
And influencer Negin Mirsalehi was born in Amsterdam, but her family hails from Iran.
But while the group could be called diverse by certain standards, many feel that Revolve didn’t do enough to represent all of its customers, namely women of color.
‘WOC here,’ wrote one Instagram user, @meeandminnie. ‘It’s incredibly disheartening and extremely frustrating to not see a single person that looks like me in any of your campaigns, on your #revolvearoundtheworld trips or on your website, but if I purchased something you would gladly take my money.
‘I shop, I travel, and I’m tired of not seeing ladies that look like me! WOC are just as valuable as their counterparts,’ she went on. ‘If you’re looking for WOC bloggers to travel with you, I follow plenty and would gladly pass along their handles; and hell, I’m due for a vacation!’
Fun in the sun: Rocky Barnes (left) is pictured with Natalie Obradovich (right)
Mixing it up: Taya Rogers is Thai American, while Jenn Im is Korean American
Must be nice: Revolve sends influencers on several trips a year. They’ve also gone to the Bahamas and Croatia
Living it up: Hailey Caulson eats breakfast (left); Lara Pia Arrobio takes a selfie with Stephanie Shepherd in the background (right)
Workin’ hard for the momney: Steph Shep, Kim Kardashian’s former assistant, is keeping busy
However, another user who goes by @queendoch said she didn’t see the point of calling Revolve out — charging that excluding black women is a purposeful branding move.
‘You guys are wasting your breath. They KNOW that there are no WOC represented in their brand. That’s the whole point,’ she wrote. ‘It’s deliberate and concisely what they want their brand to represent.
‘One must not beg for inclusion when it is clear [that] they are REFUSING to acknowledge our existence,’ she added.
Commenters have continued to complain on other photos posted by Revolve over the past couple of days, yet the brand’s founders Michael Karanikolas and Michael Mente have yet to respond.
Both have, however, spoken out in the past about the importance of influencers to their brand.
‘In the past, model recognition was reserved for those on the runways and magazine covers. Now, some are Internet famous before they’re industry famous, and have huge social followings,’ Mente told The Daily Front Row in 2016.
Speaking to Forbes that same year, he explained that these press trips packed with influencers are their best form of advertising.
Celebrity fan: Chrissy Teigen has previously collaborated with the brand on her own collection
Popular: The model’s designs were released in October to much delight from her fans
”It makes sense for our customer, our demographic, and our brand,’ he said of the #RevolveAroundTheWorld initiative. ‘This is what “our girl” wants to do.’
Revolve’s brand director Anna Tran has also spoke about the importance of Instagram as a marketing tool, telling Dash Hudson that they post ‘super fun, aspirational, and inspiring content’ to engage with audiences.
‘I always have to make sure that it’s a bright, beautiful, vibrant, exciting photo that’s filtered nicely, and features the influencers that our customers love to follow,’ she said.
In addition to influencers, Revolve has many celebrity fans that turn up at sponsored events, including Shay Mitchell, Alessandra Ambrosio, Chanel Iman, Romee Strijd, Jasmine Tookes, Nicole Richie, Sofia Richie, and Jasmine Sanders.
There’s also Charlotte McKinney, Catt Sadler, Hailey Baldwin, Olivia Holt, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Ashley Benson, Shanina Shaik, Sara Sampaio, and Emma Roberts.
Chrissy Teigen isn’t just a fan of the brand but has worked with Revolve on her own fashion collaboration, which was released in October.
‘I’ve been not just hosting Revolve parties, but going to Revolve parties for a very long time now in New York,’ she told WWD. ‘I have very close Revolve connections because I really loved shopping on it, and there are a lot of women within the company I was actually friends with so it turned into a business venture’