Is the Fashion Industry Giving Up on Size Diversity?

For several years, it looked like the fashion industry might be moving from promoting a “thin ideal” to making room for size diversity. In fact, France passed a law in 2017 to ban the use of models with unhealthy thinness in the industry. Vogue started producing an annual report in size inclusivity in 2023.

But the latest edition of that report suggests the commitment to size diversity might not be so vibrant:

“There was very limited progress in size inclusivity this season, our exclusive research has found — a fact that will come as no surprise to those who watched the shows. The body positivity movement has lost steam in mainstream culture as the pendulum has swung back to the glamorisation of thinness, amid the rising use of Ozempic and the subsequent shrinking of celebrities and influencers.”

From 8,763 looks presented in 208 shows, 95% were size zero to four. Only 0.8% were plus size. This is an incremental decline from an already low level of commitment.

A Fashion Fad?

Anna Shillinglaw founded the Milk model agency. She notes that this is out of line with size diversity in the real world:

“It feels like we’ve taken 10 steps backwards. I now feel that some of the higher-end designers looked at curvier women more as a fad in fashion rather than something that is real life.”

Tenacious Bias

In line with the current impulse to tie everything to an Ozempic trend, many observers are adding this to the list. The Guardian calls it “cultural mainstreaming of thinness because of drugs such as Ozempic.”

But no. This is nothing but the re-assertion of a longstanding bias in the industry for thinness. It goes against business interests, says Mina White, a director at IMG Models:

“When these younger emerging designers do these more size-inclusive shows, they see the financial upside immediately.”

The fashion industry has long been notorious for a lack of size diversity. It is as resistant to change, if not more so, than the rest of our culture. Weight bias is tenacious.

Click here for the new Vogue Business report on size diversity in fashion and here for further perspective.

Fashion Store, painting by August Macke / WikiArt

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October 15, 2024