M&S has collaborated with female body casting artist Lydia Reeves to unveil an empowering art installation at London’s South Bank.
Running until 11 March, the unique ‘Sixteen’ initiative features the chests of 16 M&S colleagues that were cast at Reeves’s studio in Brighton.
The eight-metre square installation intends to champion a diverse cast of women from across the brand’s business, including Bra Fit experts and support centre colleagues, aged between 22 and 65.
Part of the ‘Bra Fit’ campaign, the installation includes the cast of a woman who underwent mastectomy surgery and another who had a prophylactic mastectomy and reconstructive surgery to lower the chances of getting breast cancer due to family history.
The retailer has 2000 expert bra fitters fitting more than 900,000 customers every year. It commissioned the installation in a bid to ‘normalise the uniqueness of boobs and encourage people to show them some TLC with a bra fit’.
“M&S’s Bra Fit campaign aligns so perfectly with the constant message I shout about in my artwork every day – To show yourself and your boobs some love and self-acceptance, no matter your size or shape, as there is such beauty in our differences!” body casting artist Lydia Reeves said. “I’m really hoping that by showcasing these diverse boob casts it will encourage others to celebrate their unique bodies.”
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In February, M&S implemented signage into over 2,000 fitting rooms with guidance on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer to raise awareness among its 22 million ‘Clothing & Home’ customers.
M&S bra fitter Isabella Boxall added: “The body casting was an experience I won’t forget and to see it come to life at the installation in London was amazing! As a Bra Fitter, we fit hundreds of customers of all shapes, sizes and life stages and I think it’s so important to champion the diversity we see in store every day so to be part of M&S’ Bra Fit campaign which celebrates our differences is something I’m really proud of.”
M&S Clothing and Home marketing director, Anna Braithwaite, concluded: “This campaign is all about celebrating the uniqueness of our boobs and encouraging the nation to show them a small but important act of self-care by getting a bra fit. So being able to partner with Lydia to create such an empowering piece of art has been really special – we hope it sparks a conversation and gets more people talking about body inclusivity and self-acceptance.”
