The change from bold aesthetics to the clean girl aesthetics seems like less of a passing trend to me but instead more of a response to economic shifts. With the push of the clean girl aesthetic and at the same time there being a cost-of-living crisis there’s an emphasis on looking wealthy and essentially putting on a poker face, playing the part and keeping up.

What stuck out to me was the lack of diversity in the models of this rebrand as when this whole clean girl trend first arose it faced backlash online due to the prejudice undertones. Especially since the trend didn’t exactly accommodate to larger features or textured hair, along with elements like slicked hair and hoops are taken from Black and Southern American backgrounds have been taken and minimalised to fit a certain demographic. The idea that less is more makes it so much harder for women that don’t fit into these categories to thrive in these spaces of women that are doing Pilates and following that with overpriced smoothies – a lifestyle that isn’t accessible to everyone.

PLT and their previous brand colours exuded fun and a sense of hyper femininity to their clothing image. Their signature pink being swapped for a shade of wine red as their new brand colour subconsciously welcomes a new sense of class and elegance that potentially appeases to a target audience for more mature women.

The shift to clean girl has been happening slowly for a minute now. From Blacc Chyna dissolving her fillers and having reverse BBL surgery, followed by Khloe, Kim and Kylie and Chloe Ferry recently doing the same. Similarly to PLT’s rebrand, what was once flashy yet desirable is now deemed tacky and perhaps too much. Public figures like the Kardashians are pivoting away from the Black inspired aesthetic they were known for and adopting standards that favour the Eurocentric features they were born with. Certain things are more desirable when they’re profitable, so they’re taken, and elements are extracted until it’s no longer of use.

The idea that less is more makes it so much harder for women that don’t fit into these categories to thrive in these spaces of women that are doing Pilates and following that with overpriced smoothies – a lifestyle that isn’t accessible to everyone and a lot of PLT’s popularity was due to the fact they were so accessible in terms of product and pricing. This rebrand is now saying otherwise. I’m all for elevating your brand, however I don’t think the brand fully considered the effects of all of its previous consumers and how this change would not only effect them but the brand’s revenue moving forward.

However, I am in fact a fan of the site’s new appearance and products so I am open to the idea of my assumptions being completely wrong and this may be the perfect route for the brand to go down.

Thanks for reading,

until next time,

megankamangawrites.