Through time fashion industry has been conditioned to trends that it imposes, that the masses decide to incorporate into their lifestyles, or that may have arisen through the influence of the media in which stereotypes have been created that the population tries to imitate. It is a controversial subject that we could discuss deeply and fill full pages about it.
We consider from our perspective that, depending on the case, trends may arise due to the influence of the media, the creators of images, advertising, the objectives set by the great designers and the companies that produce garments and all kinds of articles.
But beyond who or what are those who create trends, we must admit that in recent decades a movement in defence of people who have the perfect measures has been developing, that is, people who have bulky bodies which are far from the perfect bodies that is common to project in fashion industry. In this way, “large size” models have been emerging who have now managed to change the paradigm in the world of fashion, highlighting a different beauty concept in which various elements are taken into account.
Thus, the inclusion of stunning and bulky women in fashion industry is being achieved, which has adapted to the demands of the market, leaving partially aside the perfect figures to reach their potential consumers more effectively, who are attracted by authenticity and brands that have expressed solidarity with this new perspective of fashion.
With respect to the main consumer trends for 2017 of the analyst firm “Euro monitor International”, the existence of some factors determinants that affect purchasing decisions and consumption trends of different strata of the population is evident, such as the aging of the population, the role played by technology, the influence of social networks, among others.
In relation to authenticity in brands, a report presented by the aforementioned firm points out that it arises thanks to the change in the perception of potential consumers with respect to the advertising messages that are projected in the different media, as well as to social phenomena external to the communicational context.
Regarding the prevalence of large sizes in the North American and European population, the report prepared by “Euro monitor International” in 2017 shows that the obese population, whose average is around 30 kilograms per square meter or more, represented 42, 7% of the population over 15 years old in North America and 19% in Western Europe.
On the other hand, in this report it is explained that the so-called “special sizes” aimed at the real bodies of people of any age have been emerging for fashion industry to change strategies to position products and design articles and / or garments that resemble or adapt more to the demographic reality and to the preferences of the public with specific needs that require inclusion, although mainly in the stores available through the internet, stated in the plans of the big fashion companies.
This situation has led to a great growth of the global market of large sizes, which in recent years has managed to generate about 18 million dollars a year, according to the market research company called “Plunkett Research”, which is mentioned in the report of the firm “Euro monitor International”.
For these reasons, the rise of the inclusion of large sizes in the collections of many fashion companies has been significant, so many designers have been incorporating large size models on their catwalks, while the companies responsible for manufacturing the garments have activated ambitious plans based on the promotion of their exclusive models for this type of bodies, which has found support from companies that have decided to advertise their products through plus-size models such as Allegra Doherty, Amy Lemons, Ashley Graham and Emme, who have been the pioneers of this movement.
Ashley Graham is perhaps the most recognized plus-size model of this group that we have presented, considering that during the last years she has achieved great things and has been everywhere, achieving to become the face of the “Spanish positive body” movement, through which it is intended to promote the value of self-affirmation of non-perfect bodies.
On the other hand, Ashley Graham made her debut in the famous magazine “Vogue Italia”, with photos that were published without any retouching, in addition to breaking the stereotype barrier by becoming the first plus-size model to appear in Sports Illustrated, and until leading fashion shows today with famous models such as Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber, besides that her face is the image of brands like Revlon, Marina Rinaldi, Lane Bryant and Swim suits For All.
That is how Ashley Graham has been an example for young people, since thanks to her constant work she has managed to position herself in a world as difficult and controversial as the fashion one, and at 32 she considers that she has managed to accept herself and has done a bit for fashion industry to take into account women of normal size.
Her participation in the cover of American Vogue in 2017 earned her a lot of praise and has made her a heroine for many young and adult women who see her as a role model, opening the way for many women who want to venture into this wonderful world, but at the same time difficult to enter and go through.
We must clarify that although important progress has been made allowing the inclusion of large size women in this difficult market, and that the models with real bodies have entered and been more present in the international catwalks, it is not a secret that there are still certain prejudices and denial on the part of those responsible for fashion industry, as well as the general public, who continue to perceive beauty under traditional schemes without paying much attention to the changes achieved today.
However, it is increasingly common to see women and men whose appearances are far from the so-called “perfect measures” participating in advertising campaigns or modelling on catwalks in all parts of the world, thus promoting a significant revolution in the field of modelling and fashion industry.
Continuing with large size models, we find a name that has become famous and has recently managed to reach more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram; we are referring to Tess Holiday, who recently declared in an interview the following: “When I tell people that I’m a model, they look at me like I said I killed someone.”, which shows that prejudices continue and that there is still a long way to walk to achieve true inclusion and acceptance.
Another of the models that made the plus-size movement possible is Emme, whose full name is Melissa Owens Miller and is considered the first large size model to achieve commercial success, becoming the first spokeswoman of the movement and being hired by the famous brand of cosmetics Revlon in 1998.
On the other hand, Amy Lemons is a beautiful woman with a bulky body that began as a model being size 2, to later become a large size model after finishing her studies at university and having gained a lot of weight; so in her transition from size 2 to size 16, this curvilinear model began to denounce the “zero size standard” of fashion industry, being an emblematic face in the defence of women without perfect bodies and their inclusion process not only in the world of fashion, but in different areas in which exclusion occurs due to overweight.
With respect to the well-known model Angellika Morton, we must point out that she became a large size model in 1997, being the first model in entering the International Model Hall of Fame in 1999. Until now Angellika has led a career full of triumphs and achievements, and has managed to capture the attention of many advertising companies that have projected her image around the world.
A large size model was recognized not only for being the daughter of Steven Tyler from the musical group Aerosmith, it is the young Mia Tyler, who ventured into the modelling world when she was just 19 years old after being discovered by an agent of the chain Lane Bryant stores to then participate in the show of this company during the Fashion Week of New York in 1998.
On the other hand, Allegra Doherty became one of the youngest large size models in nude posing for “GQ Italy”, achieving excellent results with this cover published in 2012. Currently Doherty has a busy agenda that has taken her to travel many countries, being requested by companies from various sectors.
Finally, we have Tess Munster, who has dedicated herself body and soul to the movement “body positive”, creating on Instagram a community with the same name in order to promote the rights of overweight women, using the hashtag #effyourbeautystandards. It should be noted that this size 22 model managed to sign in 2015 an important contract with the agency Milk Model Management.
Thanks to the advances of this fashion sector, the market of large sizes has been developed significantly, achieving changes in mind-set in relation to the perception of beauty as global referents, which are promoting new inclusion strategies in this industry.
ALFA