For
years the fashion industry has only hired skinny models to market their
clothing. The thought process being that the clothes and not the model are what
are on display. Women with large breasts, stomachs and behinds would take away
from the clothing. That seems like a logical argument except for the fact that
the average woman is not model size and perhaps she would like to see how a
particular designer's clothing would look on her. This would be a valid
argument for hiring more realistic looking models.
In the modeling world a plus-sized model is any woman above a size six.
However, in the real world plus-sized is anything above a size 12. Fashion
designers are starting to take notice of the plus-sized market as more
plus-sized models are appearing in both print and television ad as well as on
the runway. Now that women are becoming more vocal about wanting to see more
realistic representations on the runway as well as in print ads the fashion
industry is starting to take notice and respond to those arguments. It seems
only natural that the plus-sized model does not have a greater role in the
fashion industry. After all, designers, retailers and department stores
generally ignore the plus-sized market. However, women are becoming more
educated about what a realistic body type looks like and things are starting to
change.
Recently, plus- sized models were represented at London’s fashion week with
their own plus-sized fashion weekend. The show came under some scrutiny because
while the models were very curvy the clothing that was presented was not what
most people would consider plus-sized. Many people even go as far as saying
that the term plus-sized is derogatory. Only 13 designers were represented at the
plus-sized fashion weekend but that is primarily because the main attraction
was London fashion week where skinny girls were the norm.
There are some studies that show that having plus-sized models actually helps
to boost body image. In the same manner that young girls read fashion magazines
and become depressed because they do not look like the women in the magazines,
girls can now see models that look like the average woman looking beautiful and
that boost their self-esteem. Many agencies have started hiring more plus-sized
models as the demand for advertising plus-sized clothing increases. Some of the
larger agencies actually have divisions that specialize in plus-sized models.
For example, Ford 12+ Division and Wilhelmina ten20 Division are offspring of
other large agencies.
It is about time that the fashion industry starts to use more plus-sized models and recognize the buying power of the plus-sized segment. Many normal sized and curvy women are turning away from the larger fashion houses and toward small boutiques and
relatively unknown designers because they are committed to
producing quality clothing at an affordable price for the average woman. These
obscure fashion shows like the one during London’s fashion week will continue
to spring up. Hopefully, one day we will see runways with all different body
types represented and clothing that everyone can wear.
It is about time that the fashion industry starts to use more plus-sized models and recognize the buying power of the plus-sized segment. Many normal sized and curvy women are turning away from the larger fashion houses and toward small boutiques and
relatively unknown designers because they are committed to
producing quality clothing at an affordable price for the average woman. These
obscure fashion shows like the one during London’s fashion week will continue
to spring up. Hopefully, one day we will see runways with all different body
types represented and clothing that everyone can wear.
