Canadian luxury retailer Holt Renfrew is the latest big brand to include diversity in its advertising. The company’s fall campaign All Together at Holts, which made its debut this week, features 16 Canadians of various nationalities from across the country.
The “models” include a lawyer, writer, doctor, top chef, and artist.
“Holts has an incredibly diverse customer with very broad styles and this campaign is a wonderful way to celebrate the degree to which Holts resonates with so many varied and individual tastes,” said Alison Simpson, the company’s senior vice president of marketing.
It’s just the latest in a string of progressive ads in the fashion community.
Tiffany & Co. kicked off 2015 by featuring its first gay couple in an ad. The two men depicted in the jeweler’s “Will You?” campaign were a real-life couple, according to CNN.
![Drew Brown, the fashion and content director for Novella magazine, said the industry has made great progress when it comes to showcasing diversity. But it still has a long way to go.“With top female models like Naomi Campbell, Joan Smalls, and Liya Kebede, it’s crazy that Rihanna is the first black spokesperson for Dior,” Brown said. “This season, Céline, who has been criticized for not using models of colour, featured Karly Loyce for fall. Other Stories, which is owned by H&M, featured transgendered models in their fall campaign.“These are all small steps in the right direction, but the percentage of white models being featured in ads is still greater.”“Right now, we are lucky if one model of colour gets picked to be the face of a brand. There are working models of colour, but when there is only room for one to get the job, it becomes extremely competitive. Brands who aren’t afraid to incorporate diversity will not limit themselves to one consumer base, and we can begin to change what society deems as beautiful.”Another marketing expert, Philip Tsang of Clutch Marketing, believes fashion brands that embrace diversity reflect how their customer is changing.“Brands tend to follow their customers. The more accepting we are as a society, the more you will see it in advertising. Some brands will push further first and those are usually the ones that get noticed,” Tsang said.As part of its new campaign, Holt Renfrew is asking Canadians to share their own sense of style via social media using the hashtag #AllTogetheratHolts. If you post and tag your style icon, you will be entered to win a $1,500 gift card and the chance to be included in the spring 2016 campaign.[twitter-follow screen_name='TrishKozicka']](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/tiffany-and-co.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=1200)
Comments