30 Plus-Size Models Revolutionizing the Fashion Industry
The days of models needing to be a size zero in order to succeed are long gone, as the fashion industry moves towards including more diverse body shapes in shows and advertising. Curvy models from around the globe are making history on the covers of magazines and by speaking out about the importance of plus-size representation. Here are 30 inspiring, plus-size models that are challenging the fashion industry.
California model Vanessa Romo was so fed up with the lack of body and ethnic diversity in the fashion industry that she decided to enter the world of modelling, even if it meant overcoming lifelong insecurities about her appearance. “I can’t name a Mexican model—I really want to be the representation as a Chicana woman,” she told Hip Latina. She began sending out photos, including full-body shots and swimsuit photos, and found the response more accepting than she expected. Romo is now managed by Natural Models LA and produces a YouTube channel that showcases fashion and body positivity for fat Chicanx. See photo on Instagram
Why curvy women are dressing with more confidence than ever before
The designer Mary Katrantzou says she is “disappointed” by the discussion around a “return to size zero” and she hopes it doesn’t distract from the progress to make fashion off the runway more size-inclusive during the past decade.
“There’s been a huge shift,” she explains of the fact that back in the real world, there is hope for genuine inclusivity. “But we have a long way to go if we want full equality on the runway.”
Katrantzou, 40, has just unveiled a new collaboration with the luxury retailer Marina Rinaldi at Milan Fashion Week. Owned by the Max Mara Group, Marina Rinaldi has been creating size-inclusive fashion since 1980 – long before body positivity was on the agenda for most designers.
Katrantzou’s collection will arrive in stores in September and features pleated lamé separates in kaleidoscopic prints inspired by the elements, colourful belted coats and Glen check dresses.
The UK sizes will span from 8-28 with prices starting at £120 and going up to £1,260.Katrantzou says that women with curves are shopping with growing confidence, and consumers have driven the demand for more choice in the “plus size” designer market. When she launched her eponymous label at London Fashion Week 15 years ago, she produced collections exclusively in sizes 8-14, as dictated by what department stores and boutiques would buy.
“The first sizes to [sell-out] for us now are a UK 18, 20 and 22,” she says, (her own brand now runs up to a size 24). “Fifteen years ago, even a 16 was a stretch for a designer starting out. This has filtered through the industry because of demand from wholesale partners.
”The fact that some high-end designers see curvy customers as women they want to dress (and have money to spend) shouldn’t feel revolutionary. Yet this change has been hard-won – Katrantzou acknowledges that for her the frustrations were personal.
“Speaking for myself, I feel freer,” she explains, “just as I think a lot of women feel freer, to test different silhouettes on their body and feel very confident in what they’re wearing. Having more options plays a huge part in that.
”Katrantzou typically wears black A-line dresses as what she calls a “uniform palette cleanser, because so many decisions in my day revolve around pattern and colour”. However she has added a Marina Rinaldi black cape dress from the collection to her own wardrobe.
The majority of her designs, though, are for maximalists. The body-conscious engineering of digital prints and embroideries has always been her signature and for Marina Rinaldi, she has skilfully manipulated her motifs to size up, giving the customer the most flattering fit whether they are buying a 10, 14, or 20.
It’s a precise and costly process, hence why so few brands make the effort to test and tweak their samples on women of different sizes. Katrantzou says the results are worth it, and she is excited to offer all customers perfectly cut statement clothes.
“Curvier women are embracing their figures and being more daring,” she says, “wearing more colour, wearing more body con pieces, and feeling confident in their own skin. It is inspiring for designers. Knowing what a curvy woman wants to wear has affected how we design.”
She compares this feeling of liberation to when she first started designing, and the unspoken rules and “certain don’ts that probably guided us”.
“Starting out I would manipulate the imagery to suit different sizes, but the silhouette I will apply it on would be more easy, breezy silhouettes, nothing too tight to the body, nothing too revealing,” she explains. “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have designed a body-con, fully printed, knitted jacquard dress for a curvy girl. Now I don’t think there is a silhouette that you wouldn’t touch as long as it’s engineered in such a way that’s flattering to the female body.
”The 32-year-old British star Alva Claire models Katrantzou’s collection, chosen by the designer for her “incredible face”. She is one of several women to achieve curvy supermodel status in recent years.
“She’s a model with presence,” says Katrantzou. “That’s what you want from a model, as a designer. And then your audience, your customer, feels a sense of reality. They can imagine the way they too would look and feel in the clothes.”
