If you’ve been bombarded with content and commentary about Australian fashion label Witchery lately and you’re wondering what’s going on, you’re not alone.
It’s a hot topic in the fashion world right now – and maybe it’s just my algorithm servingme this content – but it seems as though most of the sentiment has been negative.
The label’s rebrand has sparked controversy for several reasons, including removing size 20 from its offering and releasing a collection quite basic for the price point – all pretty underwhelming for a brand promising and teasing a “bold awakening”.
Here’s the thing: I’ve only just recently discovered that Witchery carries a size 20, and when I found out I immediately rushed to my closest store to try a blazer on. As someone who loves fashion and exists in a bigger body, it is rare to find a blazer at a reasonable price point that I can actually physically try in-store.
Most brands comparable to Witchery in the market don’t often cater to a bigger size, so when I saw online that not only did this one have a more diverse range of bodies in its marketing imagery, I literally ran, not walked, to the store.
I was so stoked to fit this blazer, and since this discovery I’ve actually shopped the brand more than I ever have. I’ve acquired a few pieces in sizes 18 and 20 in a short amount of time and I was excited to finally have this option.
I bought well-fitted blazers, coats, and skirts in fabrics that I would normally not fit in stores.
I was actually in one of the stores when I found out about the rebrand going live a few days later.
I was trying out a satin maxi dress that looked so lovely on my body, and again in a fabric that doesn’t usually get used to cater to this dress size in-store, and I remember feeling so excited when staff told me that the label had a very great range launching, with a colour palette I was really into.
So imagine my surprise when, on the day of launch, I went online and saw that the size 20 was gone.
In 2024, when more consumers are being vocal about wanting more size inclusivity, Witchery indeed made the “bold” choice to take itself off that market.
Jess Molina is a writer and content creator in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle space.
Why scrap size 20?
I did some research and saw that the brand addressed it by saying: “If you were a size 20 with Witchery before, we welcome you to try an 18 instead”.
For a clothing brand that you’d think would know better, it doesn’t seem to understand size differences. Nor has it considered the fact that the average size of a woman in New Zealand and Australia is 14, so it now carries only two sizes above that and five below.
The disparity between carrying sizes considered XS and XXS (Witchery starts with a 4) but not XXL any more sends a strong message. In this day and age, with the budgets and production access that Witchery has, doing so is a deliberate choice.
While I think the new collection is beautiful, and the pieces are elevated and timeless while still feeling current, I’m disappointed, to say the least.
For one, it took me this long to discover that Witchery carried up to a size 20, and the world of shopping just opened up a little bit more for those of us not existing in a straight-sized body.
I’ve been reading comments, and one of the points raised was that perhaps size 20 wasn’t selling and that’s why it was cut. And to that I say – if it took me this long to find out that Witchery had a decent size range, and I’m someone in the fashion industry, how would the average consumer find out?
I know a lot of plus-sized peopledon’t really check out stores that historically have excluded us, so my question is, how committed was Witchery to marketing that reflected this diversity?
To offer the solution “just try a size 18 and see” is insulting to its customer base and fans alike.
We already know how hard it is to find the correct size, as that’s dependent on so many factors – cut, fabric, style. Not to mention body shape.
To disregard its size 20 customers, after it’s already shown us it is possible to cater to our bodies if it really wanted to, is a pretty bold awakening.
