Can plus-size models really make fashion inclusive?
Caption: Ashley Graham for Addition Elle at New York Fashion Week (sourced via)
As New York Fashion Week concluded, it left us with a little more than Spring/Summer 2017 trends. There was an aggressive acknowledgement of body positive image with several designers using plus-size models in their shows.
American model Ashley Graham grabbed most of the limelight for the stunning lingerie line launch for Addition Elle. Designer Christian Siriano and Beyonce’s favourite, Chromat, too, included curvy models in their shows. And then, street style included the likes of Orange Is The new Black star Dascha Polanco, flaunting her curvy thighs in a killer bodysuit.
Now does this mean ideas about beauty is changing? Well, I would say, we have to wait and watch. Yes, it’s a good start but I have reasons to doubt the crusaders. Here’s why:
Most models were hardly plus-size. In fact, they were just not size zero. So, on a ramp, what defines plus-size alters drastically because our eyes have set the benchmark on skinny and taut
Again, most models seemed to be curvy in the right places. In fact, many had a flat tummy! Most plus-size women are not blessed with the kind of a body that forms the perfect playground for silhouettes like a pencil skirt
The goal of fashion is to inspire. If I ask whether inclusion of plus-size models in shows will inspire girls killing themselves with soul-crushing diets to take it easy, what would you say?
Will it now become easier for plump women to find their dress size in fast fashion brands? Or, will it stop others from jesting about a full rounded body shape, what would you say? Maybe your answer is NO to all these questions.
Is this the beginning of acceptance of all body types or is it a forced space-sharing? Has fashion really become inclusive? A million questions are buzzing in my mind.
I am not saying it’s all a lost cause. In fact, it has been a rather powerful beginning. Moreover, every idea in fashion trickles down from the ramps of New York, London, Milan and Paris.
But, for acceptance of all body types to become a rule, I think, we still have a long way to go.
