FIGS (apparel)

FIGS was founded by Heather Hasson and Trina Spear in Los Angeles, California in 2013.[1][2] Hasson had the business idea after helping a friend "find more flattering work clothes."[3] Spear worked on Wall Street at the time and helped Hasson develop the business idea.[3] The two began by selling scrubs out of the parking lot of hospitals, getting feedback from staff.[4]

The company maintains an office in the Los Angeles area.[5] In December 2015, FIGS was selected to join the Endeavor network, a startup accelerator and mentorship program.[6] As of 2018 the company has raised a total of $75 million in funding.[7][8] FIGS was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States by Inc. in 2018,[9] with the company having a three-year growth of 9,948%.[3][4] A“pre-IPO secondary” campaign was launched in 2020 for a possible 2021 IPO or direct listing.[10]

FIGS sells scrubs and other associated medical apparel and accessories for medical professionals, including physician assistants, doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners. The apparel comes in a variety of different colors and styles, including V-neck tops, button-down tops, and jogger pants.[11] The scrubs are made with material that is antimicrobial for odor resistance with four-way stretch and pockets.[12] FIGS also operates the Threads for Threads program which donates sets of scrubs to countries with limited access to medical apparel and accessories.[2][13]

In October 2020, FIGS released a promotional video targeting female osteopathic medicine physicians.[14] The video showed a woman in neon pink scrubs reading a book titled "Medical Terminology for Dummies" while holding it upside down and a camera cut that zoomed in on a blank badge labelled with the letters "DO".[15] The advertisement was taken down after criticism from medical professionals, noting an exhibition of gender bias by the company, calling the advertisement "unforgivable" for promoting stereotypes of both osteopathic medicine as well as females in medicine.[16] Medical organizations have also leveled criticism against FIGS, including the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, which criticized the advertisement as showing "that in 2020, women physicians and doctors of osteopathic medicine are still attacked in thoughtless and ignorant marketing campaigns" and demanded a public apology from the company.[16] The company tweeted a response to the criticism stating, "We dropped the ball and we are so sorry. We love you guys and we’ll always listen to what you have to say!"[17] The response led to further criticism of the company as it was accused of issuing a non-apology and has led to a boycott of the brand.[18]

Backlash from the advertisement has also led to further criticism regarding the manner by which FIGS recruits and compensates models of its products. The company targets medical students and recent medical college graduates with significant student loans but does not offer financial compensation for their marketing work, instead giving a free pair of scrubs with a vague suggestion that modeling for FIGS would result in social media popularity.[19] Models were also given little to no creative input on marketing context and material.[19] The practice, called "exploitative" by osteopathic physician Mikhail Varshavski,[20] has since been highlighted by the release and backlash to the promotional video in which the model used in the controversial advertisement was an osteopathic medical physician who was unpaid despite the company's significant funding.[21][22]

• Official website