WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
In an industry once fixated on one size, models with realistic figures were rarely seen but now they are being snapped strutting their stuff on global catwalks
Super skinny is out and healthy is in vogue as the fashion industry champions body diversity on and off the runway. Size inclusivity “isn’t a trend, it’s here to stay”, one of Australia’s top modelling agents has revealed, as designers from New York to Sydney move to shatter the rail-thin size 8 stereotype.
But has fashion finally achieved equality on the body image scale or is there still a long way to go?
Supermodels Ashley Graham, Precious Lee and Robyn Lawley have challenged the traditional cookie-cutter model mould, flaunting their more realistic figures on the catwalks. On the other end of the scale, Kim Kardashian – who has long been an example of someone rallying against the super-skinny stereotype – was blasted for bragging about her “extreme” weight loss at the Met Gala in order to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s dress.
The term “plus size” is outdated, the industry now referring to models as “curve” and leading agencies no longer separating them on their internal model board based on size, says IMG Models managing director Danielle Ragenard.
“The industry has embraced the importance of consumers wanting to see themselves within fashion – whether it be on the runway, in a magazine, online and in the window of a shop front,” Ragenard says.
New York-based agency IMG Models expanded its books to include “all talent regardless of things like size, age, race, gender, size, sexual orientation, or religion” – a priority it has had “for years”, she says.
Ragenard points to the recent runways at Australian Fashion Week where designers cast a diverse range of models.
“This isn’t a trend, it is here to stay,” she says, adding there will be “more growth in the array of (diverse) talent showcased moving forward”.
“Hopefully we’ll get to the point where this is an accepted reality for all brands.”
IMG uses the phrase “curve”, rather than “plus size”, and it has “really become an industry standard when referring to models who don’t fit the standard size 8,” Ragenard says.
Ragenard says New York’s fashion scene is “pretty accepting of diversity across the board for many years now”.
“Size representation in Australia is here to stay, however there is still a lot of work to be done. I look forward to the day where we don’t need to have separate conversations about size or it’s proactively pointed out.
“However, we’re only really starting to see that acceptance in other markets such as Europe.”
Los Angeles-based Australian model Jennifer
Labelling us just causes division in the industry which I feel hinders progress towards inclusion
Atilemile, 31, who walked for Aje, Bec + Bridge and Bianca Spender among others at Fashion Week, says there is “still a way to go for true inclusivity both in Australia and overseas (but) there was an obvious shift in the use of more inclusively sized models this year”.
Atilemile – who has been modelling for about seven years – says the use of labels to define body type is “damaging”.
“I don’t really like the term curve as I’m just a model – we’re all just models,” she says.
“Labelling us just causes division in the industry which I feel actually hinders progress towards inclusion.”
Atilemile says more representation is needed “now, not in five years”.
After sporting a black bandeau and sage blazer on Bec + Bridge’s runway, Atilemile reflects on a “full circle moment”
“When I was in my teens, I couldn’t fit into Bec + Bridge, now I’m walking their runway.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Australian model Georgina Burke, 32, who recently appeared in Sports Illustrated’s famed swimsuit issue.
“My whole concept of the industry changed,” Burke says of her approach to body image.
“It became, ‘If you want me, you’re booking me for me.’ I’m not conforming to the idea that I’m going to be super- skinny or super-big. Then my whole career kind of took off.”
Burke says the term “plus size” is done and so is putting labels on any model.
“I think if you put labels on anyone – whether it’s age, colour, size, sex – I feel like it’s so outdated.
“I don’t think I need to be labelled as plus size. In the beginning, it was an industry term, whereas now, (the industry) is so open and everyone is really coming on board.
“I feel like it has changed from plus size to size inclusive, to curve, to this, to that. I’m in Sports Illustrated as a model – it’s not, ‘Whatever number plus size model to be in (the magazine).’ It’s like, no, there’s a model in Sports Illustrated. We’ve made huge progress, that’s for sure.”
In a statement, eating disorder and body image charity The Butterfly Foundation says the fashion industry “still has a long way to go before it is authentically inclusive”.
“The terms plus size and curve are exclusionary and othering in that they still label larger bodies as something other than the bodies traditionally represented in mainstream media,” it says.
“True inclusion would see the terms plus and curve abolished altogether, with models of all shapes and sizes in the one show, celebrated together, representing an array of sizes. Ultimately, we will know the fashion industry is authentically inclusive when we don’t need to consistently have these conversations.”