The Rise of Plus-Size High Fashion: Redefining Runways and Beauty Standards
In 2013, Eden Miller made history as the first designer to showcase plus-size high fashion on the runways of New York Fashion Week. Since then, the face of the fashion industry has undergone a transformative shift, representing women of diverse shapes and sizes.
The body positivity movement has been a major driving force in challenging conventional beauty norms and creating a safe space for promoting a wider acceptance of plus-sized bodies. In fact, the last decade has been monumental in paving the way for plus-size models to take center stage and encouraging brands to offer a wider size range.
But does this mean the fight for inclusivity is over? Where do we stand now? In this post, we’ll explore the impact of plus-size representation on the runway, its role in redefining existing beauty standards, and how it will reshape the future of luxury fashion.
Fashion Trends Throughout the Years
For decades, the global fashion industry has celebrated a narrow portrayal of beauty, focusing on slim and tall models that fail to represent the vast majority of women out there. While the average American woman is between sizes 16 and 18, the industry has historically favored models between sizes 0 to 4, creating an idealized body type that excludes diverse bodies. The lack of diversity on the runway combined with societal expectations compelled designers and brands to cater to a limited size range that further perpetuated unrealistic beauty standards.
While the global fashion industry was valued at a whopping $652.94 billion in 2023, the global plus-size market landed at an estimated value of $288 billion, making up a significant portion of sales. As a result, many brands have become flexible to the inclusion of those outside the strict size standards. This is only one step in dismantling the harmful beauty standards and systemic prejudice that invalidate plus sizes.
The Rise of Plus-Size High Fashion
If you were a plus-size woman searching for designer plus-size date night clothes a few years back, you would have a tough time finding something suitable. Many designers asserted that designer collections are simply too complex to engineer for curved models as that would require modifying the entire design. However, the women’s plus-size market is the fastest-growing apparel market in the US today with an estimated worth of 12.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.
There are several factors that have contributed to this seismic shift in traditional beauty standards. Iconic plus-size models such as Ashley Graham, Candice Huffine, Paloma Elsesser, and Tara Lynn are taking over the runways and breaking barriers. 2016 was a memorable year in recent history for plus-size advocacy in high fashion with Ashley Graham’s appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue. She was the first plus-size model in a bikini to be featured on the cover of a prominent magazine.
According to Vogue’s Spring/Summer 2024 report, brands such as Karoline Vitto and Chopova Lowena stood at the top with the highest number of mid-size and plus-size models, followed by New York’s Bach Mai and London-based designers Palmer Harding, Di Petsa, and Patrick McDowell. Even brands such as Balenciaga, Ferragamo, and Mugler joined the ranks this time around though they still have a lot of catching up to do before they can be labeled inclusive. In a broader view, plus-size models only made up 0.9% of all the looks which isn’t much but still a step up from the 0.6% seen in Vogue’s Autumn/Winter 2023 report.
Reshaping the Future of Luxury Fashion
While plus-size representation on the runway is nowhere near reflective of the diversity we see around us, the acceptance of plus-size models on notable platforms signals a departure from the longstanding notion that high fashion is exclusive to a particular body type. We also cannot ignore the impact of plus-sized fashion influencers who are challenging traditional beauty standards and helping reshape the future of luxury fashion using their large following.
We’ve still a long way to go until runways and brands at large give due representation to body-size diversity but the ones participating are already becoming a loud voice affirming that fashion knows no size.
