A body-positive #hotgirlsummer

Summer fashion is a celebration of diversity, colour and of you the individual. The idea of #hotgirlsummer that is played out over social media and in our lives is a celebration of that identity and body positivity showing us the best of what London and the UK can be.

28 August, 2021

Summer fashion is a celebration of diversity, colour and of you the individual. The idea of #hotgirlsummer that is played out over social media and in our lives is a celebration of that identity and body positivity showing us the best of what London and the UK can be.

Summer in London is much the same as any city – hot, humid and sweaty. But after the last few months of isolation and general misery across the UK, everyone is desperate to make the most of summer and find their freedom and voice again.

One of the easiest expressions of that is our wardrobe combined with the positive powers of social media to express and celebrate others and ourselves. And the wave of body positivity sweeping through the fashion industry and society at large means that this expression of summer and a release of individuality is no longer restricted to those who match one media-friendly idea of perfection.

After the sweat pants of lockdown and scrolling through hours of Tik Toks and Instagram posts, everyone is ready to shed their layers and express themselves and their bodies, regardless of what that body looks like. London’s streets and parks are becoming a canvas on which people of all colours, shapes and sizes can finally start to express their individuality again with one and another.

Loosely fitting cotton shirts unbuttoned till only one button is left draped over shoulders teetering between sun-kissed and sunburnt, bralets adorned, 5-inch in-seem shorts, sunglasses that offer little protection from the suns UV rays but bring flair and flowing summer dresses. Summer has returned to these emerald isles and #hotgirlsummer is truly inflow.

Hot girl summer does not have one definition but along with a theme tune provide by Megan Thee stallion it represents an idea of living for and being yourself no matter what and the body positive moment is one of the greatest aspects of this. #Hotgirlsummer shows us what fashion and social media can do for empowerment.

Body positivity has been a movement in fashion and on social media that has grown from a trickle to a torrent in the last decade. Gone now are the days where models were almost exclusively perfect in a Da Vincian Vitruvianman sense of proportional and mathematical perfection – beauty is more than your eyes being perfectly distanced and the measurements of your body it is being comfortable and confident in who you are. The fashion industry is now turning to reflect this, often through the impacts of smaller creators online and role models like singer Lizzo, where models and the clothes they adorn are no longer designed to perfection but the person.

Highstreet and online fashion powerhouses like ASOS, River Island, Boohoo and more are now meeting demand and have tailored made ranges for the different needs of different bodies and ever-expanding options, styles and sizes for all. Fashion that for so long has been closed off to those who can afford and those who can fit one media-friendly image of perfection is becoming democratized for the benefit of all.

People of all genders and any other descriptor should feel empowered to be who they are, what they are and be able to dress for that. A walk through Soho square on a sunny Saturday afternoon would tell you all you need to know about the importance of diversity and being able to express that diversity in London and the UK. A body-positive #hotgirlsummer is truly the best of what we can be.