By Liam Solomon. Wednesday 12th June, 2019.

On Thursday Nike unveilled a new line of curvy mannequin at it's flagship store in Oxford Street, which will become part of its wider roll out to celebrate diversity. The decision has been met with some backlash, The Telegraph argued that the body shape promotes an unhealthy figure, while many publications applaude the move by Nike as a step forward in representing all body types.

Body positive influencers have rushed to the aid of the sportwear giant, showing their support and deeming it a step in the right direction by the clothing brand.

I thought I'd go and visit the babe responsible for thousands of fatphobes on the internet losing their shit this week. Apparently a fitness brand using mannequins above a UK size 8 is the most outrageously offensive thing that's ever happened! Or to quote some of the comments I've seen - "dangerous", "disgusting", and "promoting death". Imagine my surprise when I entered @nikelondon and the mannequin did not, in fact, try to kill me! We actually got along great and fully rocked this impromptu photoshoot. * And do you know what I noticed during my death defying encounter with a plus size piece of plastic? People of all shapes and sizes were in the store. Some bigger than the mannequin, some smaller, and every single one deserves to see themselves represented and be catered for. Regardless of their fitness level. Whether they work out or not. Whatever fatphobic wankers want to say about who can and cannot wear a pair of fucking leggings. Every one of us is worthy of being represented, celebrated, and seen. This is a very small step in the right direction, and the reaction to it has shown exactly how necessary it is. * P.s. the mannequin is called Avril and she would like to remind you to drink some water and say something nice to yourself today. 💜💙💚🌈☀️ * [image description: Megan is standing in a Nike store next to a plus size mannequin in black sportswear. She's wearing a white crop top, pastel patterned trousers and pink trainers while smiling and leaning on the mannequin as if they're besties] #bodypositivity #bodypositive #bodyconfidence #justdoit #nike #allbodiesaregoodbodies #fitnessmodel #plusisequal #bodyposi

213.3k Likes, 2,823 Comments - Megan Jayne Crabbe 🐼 (@bodyposipanda) on Instagram: "I thought I'd go and visit the babe responsible for thousands of fatphobes on the internet losing..."

As a platform for fashion shoppers, Love the Sales data team tracks the trends in searches and clicks on our site to determine what is selling across 16,000 brands.

Since Thursday's big reveal, search for Nike's plus size active range has increased, with search for keywords including 'Nike' and 'plus size' increasing by +387% on the site.

The most clicked on item in the range is Nike's One Luxe (Plus Size) Tights, the same product featuring on the plus size mannequin, with clicks on the product increasing by over 200% since the start of this week.

Nike have led the way recently in pushing for proportional representation amongst their clothing lines. The Nike Pro Hijab which was released earlier this year was named as one of the most popular clothing items in the world currently.

The moves have proved popular with shoppers as search for Nike products at Love the Sales has increased by 94% compared to a year ago.

More shoppers are searching for plus size activewear

Nike are not the only brand benefiting from a new wave of plus size shoppers, there has been a notable increase in search for plus size activewear in June. Compared to May, searches in activewear which included the keyword 'plus size' has gone up by +78%, these would include any search with an active keyword in, 'plus size base layer leggings', 'plus size training top'.

Whether you agree or disagree with the move from Nike, it has certainly had an instant impact on more plus size shoppers searching for activewear.

LovetheSales.com is a fashion search engine which brings together over 6 million fashion items across 1000 retailers onto one platform.

For more information on the above please contact.

Liam Solomon
Editor
liam@lovethesales.com
+44 7414 633 197