Model Sizes Affect Us
Thanks to the number of people speaking out against the models that are chosen in the fashion industry, more opportunities are being given to bigger, more thicker models. However, not enough is changing, not enough representation is being shown to us, and this cycle isn’t helping viewers self-esteem and self-love.
When you look at the models on websites you either will observe that they are stick-thin or plus sized. If you were to observe the work that you did in school, you will realize that when researching about different places in the world you either looked at the richest, or the poorest, never the rich. It’s that way when it comes to model sizes, we see the thickest and the thinnest, but never the ones that are in the middle- the ones that look like the rest of us. Have you ever shopped online and tried to figure out how you would look in the clothes they were selling? Or have you ever looked at the model sizes and thought that you were left out and didn’t feel enough because you didn’t look like any of them? If you have, it isn’t a great feeling, how can people we don’t even know, people we see online, or in stores make us feel inferior?
Plus sized models are breaking the fashion industries ideals of “perfect people” that we have had for generations. We cannot blame the models, of course, but also the designer’s visions as to who wears their clothes. Designers always have a vision as to who will wear their clothes, and the designs unintentionally or intentionally come out to fit that one body type. Many shoppers most likely also have the complaint that some stores recognize plus-sized models as a certain size, and some stores believe that buyers that are curvy are “plus sized”. Those curvier people are seen as the “ideal body shape” right now, but some designers and some people’s views refuse to see that people who are a little thicker than most runway models are not plus sized.
Designers most definitely have impressioned our minds. One of the most talented and biggest designers, Dolce and Gabbana are both known for body shaming curvy women, and only dressing thin models that we so often see on the runway. Not only Dolce and Gabbana though. The absolutely talented Ralph Lauren also is guilty of photoshopping models to look even thinner than they actually are, and their runways are a tragedy to anyone who believes that all body shapes are beautiful. Runways, in general, are a messy affair for anyone who wants to see designs on their body type, the typical height of a runway model is 5’9, but the typical size of a runway model? Their sizes must be around 34”-23”-34”, simply because anyone else of another size won’t fit since the designs are not custom tailored for the models. In designers heads, they already know that their models are going to be really thin.
Although, not all designers have this mindset. Freelance designers and lesser-known designers all have inclusivity on the runway, online, and in stores. However, bigger known designers don’t follow suit, and the outcome of such thoughts are that more people continue to believe that their bodies aren’t good enough and that they must change to fit what other people think are beautiful.
