Now, more than ever, the fashion industry is rife with critics speaking
openly about the discrimination and prejudice against bigger sizes. It has been
announced that the average size in the UK is a 14/16 for a woman while a
35.8inch waist is the average for a man. Gone, it seems, are the 90s trends of
stick thin models and instead there is a loud demand for realistic size
fashion.
From a business perspective this makes complete sense: why would shops
discriminate against the largest proportion of its target market? For where
there is money brands will (eventually) provide. And it seems this realistic approach
is catching on as one business caters to a plus size market, the others follow
suite. Debenhams has recently
released a size 16 mannequin range to represent the majority of its target
demographic, shunning the industry norm of a size 0 ‘ideal’. Whereas previously
size 16 was considered ‘plus size’ and rarely did high street shops meet
anything above the size 18 requirement, now a lot of stores are endorsing a
healthier approach to fashion.
Actress turned plus size designer Melissa McCarthy is just one of many
people to speak out against the prejudice against plus size within the fashion,
and even just shopping, industry, arguing that malls and shopping centres
segregate larger women. She claims:
“It’s an odd thing that you can’t
go shopping with your friends because your store is upstairs hidden by the tire
section. ‘We’ll put you gals over there because we don’t want to see you and
you probably don’t want to be seen.”[i]
While the higher end spectrum of fashion overall remains stoically rigid
in its approach to size, there are exceptions. Luxury brand Anna Scholz offers designer plus
size clothing exclusively for curvier ladies, turning the fashion
world on its head. The designer brand offers fashionable, stylish clothes
created specifically to flatter larger sizes but doesn’t offer anything below a
size 14. This makes perfect sense if the average size is a 14/16, and we are
now seeing a demand for this sort of approach.
Until recently, and still in many places, larger size clothes were only
available hidden away on rails at the back of the shop or in budget stores such
as Evans and Peacocks, with no regard to style. Brands would cater for larger
sizes by making bigger versions of clothes that just had to be dealt with.
Whereas now, although this sort of niche plus size fashion market is not
entirely new, we are definitely beginning to see a clear and uncompromising demand
for it.
The proof for this can be seen with the Protein
World controversy; its ‘Beach Body Ready’ adverts on the London Underground
last month for the depiction of the desirable female appearance and derogatory
expectations of the female form. The adverts sparked outrage and the protein
fitness company have now been forced to remove them from the tube due to an
investigation from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Although to the public it seems that only small changes are being made
to adapt to this at the moment, it is a huge step forward for such an elite and
fast-paced industry. While higher end designers are not yet seen to be fully endorsing
bigger sizes as much as the high street, curvier models are being used by designers
such as Calvin Klein using a US size 10 model Myla
Dalbesio. For men’s fashion, on the other hand, always
slightly behind women’s, there are still definite plus size openings being made.
High street name Next offer a ‘Big and Tall’ collection
while popular fashion site Fashion
Beans has included dressing techniques and fashion tips for plus size men. So
not quite the vast overhaul some people are looking for, but still a clear
recognition of the changing demands of the fashion market.
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