Plus-Size Problems in a Straight-Size World
This feature article was written for my WRIT 385 Magazine Journalism class.
Plus-Size Problems in a Straight-Size World
In spite of recent trends in body positivity, fashion design schools still lack proper training in designing for “average bodies” and have fallen behind the curve.
By Elizabeth Pamboukian
My whole life I have been curvier than most of my friends; I wore a training bra in 4th grade and had already outgrown the juniors section by 6th. Yet, I never felt different until fashion told me I was. It wasn’t until my high school senior prom when I looked everywhere for the perfect dress. After trying on almost all of the dresses at Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Bloomingdales, I resorted to online shopping. Yet again, none of the 20 dresses I ordered fit me and I had to return them all. It was then that I realized I needed something larger than a size 12 but I didn’t want to admit it. I didn’t want to be plus-size. I refused to be plus-size. Eventually, my mother noticed my embarrassment and so she took me to a tailor to get a size 12 Free People dress extended to fit me.
Today, there’s an obvious ideological shift happening in the fashion industry: size inclusivity and body positivity have become trending topics. Brands have begun to take notice, extending sizes, starting new plus-size lines, and showcasing more body diversity on the runway, finally outfitting the 68% of American women who wear a size 14 or above. For brands to acknowledge size inclusivity in campaigns and on the runway, is a huge step forward towards the future of fashion. However, to fully legislate this shift forward, the fashion industry must start from its training grounds: fashion school.
For the next generation of fashion designers, fashion school is where students develop their skills and beliefs that will shape them and the future industry. However, despite recent backlash against brands who are not inclusive and insensitive towards plus-size such as lingerie company Victoria’s Secret, the fashion education system today remains rooted in traditional views and continues to teach the opinions of an exclusivefashion industry.
Fashion illustration classes often teach the “9 head” method where the body is drawn to be 9 heads tall (even though the average body is only 5 heads tall) and clothes are to be drawn onto elongated and impossibly thin bodies – which are glamorized as the ideal. In fashion design classes, students learn to create patterns for a standard size 4 fit model with a perfectly proportioned hourglass figure. But the reality is – this body does not belong to the average woman.
So if the average American woman wears a size 16, why is the term “plus-size” used to describe her clothing? Why does the average American woman account for only 18% of the clothing sold in the fashion industry? Mitchell Vassie, a fashion design professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia, weighs in. “The term ‘plus-size’ is an industry standard, whether one agrees with it or not. I am unusual, in the sense that I tend to use the term ‘average size,’ when referring to industry standard ‘plus-size models’. I think our industry is missing a trick. We tend to make this segment of the market niche, when in fact it’s the norm. The fashion industry is extremely slow moving in my opinion,” he says.
Chelsea Kaya, a senior fashion design student originally from Shanghai, China, now studying at Central Saint Martins in the United Kingdom, explains that students typically only use the plus-size and larger mannequins when wanting to “create an ‘oversized’ look for their project concepts.” None of the seniors at her school are designing extended sizes for their senior showcase this year. She adds that the plus-size community is not represented nearly enough at Central Saint Martins. Students are rarely encouraged to design extended sizes. “I think it really depends on the individuals preference whether they want to design plus-size,” she says. “But sometimes they are inspired on their own to use models that are not stereotypically skinny to understand a different aesthetic.”
Fashion schools do not mandate that their students learn to design for plus-size figures and if a student wants to learn, they must go out of their way and do so themselves. Plus-size design courses might be offered in certain schools but they are often electives and not required. For example, at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, an elective called “Image Consulting: Plus and Petite Clients,” is offered to students who show interest in designing for these not-so-special specialized markets.
Azka Agha, a senior fashion design student at FIT explains that “typically, professors don’t mention plus-size design, but I have had some professors encourage it when a student shows interest.” Even with the added elective at FIT, which is already more than most fashion design schools offer, Azka states “I don’t think plus-size is represented yet, but I think it’s a work in progress.” Although most of the design students at her school are designing for a size 2-6 fit model, she mentions that she knows of one M.F.A. student designing for plus-size.
Azka suggests that to encourage more students to design for plus-size, fashion schools should “provide more plus-sized dress forms in classrooms apart from the typical 6-12 size range or teach us how to scale patterns for bigger sizes in normal pattern making classes as an added unit in the syllabus.”
Nevertheless, fashion schools only provide a few plus-size dress forms, most of them a size 12 or 14. Most fashion design students graduate from fashion school without even dressing a plus-size form, nonetheless designing clothing for a model who isn’t thin.
Even so, there are a few students who go out of their way to create size-inclusive designs. Zoie Henry, a senior fashion design student studying at SCAD, is redefining the norm and tackling plus-size barriers.
“I started thinking of designing for plus-size fall of last year…I’ve always fluctuated weight and plus-size design is something I’m very passionate about because there’s definitely not enough of it, there’s not enough color especially,” Zoie says.
Her senior collection titled “DNA,” made for sizes 14 to 20, is also sustainable, upcycling designer deadstock and factory remnants. Inspired by current issues and the people around her, Zoie is combining letters she’s collected with pictures of her past memories and bold colors, to create a maximalist plus-size collection, distinct from the minimal, monotone basics that are often the only choice offered to plus-size women in the current retail industry today. “It’s bold colors and a lot of the words are positive affirmations so I want the women wearing them to feel more confident and beautiful,” she says.
In the past, larger women were told to hide their curves and “slim down their figures” by wearing dark colors. But thanks to principal designers leading the recent body positivity movement such as maximal fashion designer and project runway winner, Christian Siriano, more plus-size women are unashamedly embracing color. Notorious for being the most inclusive and perhaps brightest runway show of New York Fashion Week, Christian Siriano added plus-size ready-to-wear to his brand in 2016 which now accounts for 50% of his mix of business.
“Adding plus-sizes to my line tripled my business. Why wouldn’t you do that?! Do we not want to triple the business? Do we not think these women should wear our clothes? Do we not want these women to have beautiful things because we’re afraid they’re not beautiful? What is going on here?” Siriano passionately exclaimed at a 2018 event.
The sustainable aspect of Zoie’s collection also proves to be unique. Often, fashion companies who rebrand to align with the needs of the modern consumer will pick and choose to either extend their sizing or incorporate more eco-friendly practices, rarely doing both. “The option to wear eco-friendly clothing should be available in all sizes to everyone,” Zoie says.
With the current trend of awareness in social and environmental issues, many people are opting to shop only sustainable fashion. However, for women who are sizes 14 and up, this niche market sets a large barrier, limiting options to just a few small brands such as Mara Hoffman, Eileen Fisher, Hours, and Reformation.
Despite the nonexistence of plus-size design courses at SCAD, some of Zoie’s professors encouraged her to design for extended sizes when she brought up that she was interested. One of her professor’s, Mitchell Vassie responds, “it’s not up to me to tell a student not to design for a certain demographic, I am here to guide and help the student learn and also to embrace what they love.” However, when she told her professors that she decided to create a plus-size collection, they made sure to also ask if she cares about getting into the annual fashion showcase.
Although the SCAD fashion show is known for driving creativity and pushing boundaries, there has not been a plus-size model on the runway, yet. Zoie is the only senior fashion design student at SCAD this year that is creating a plus-size collection.
Ultimately, with the rise in demand for size inclusivity, fashion schools must adapt to fit the needs of future talents that will be designing for the impending consumer. This means catering to a range of silhouettes – not just the standard size 4 fit model. To adapt to the body positivity movement, fashion schools must stock their classrooms with plus-sized mannequins, create courses that specifically serve plus-size women, and lastly, encourage students to push boundaries and create for the curvier figure. Altering the fashion industry’s impossibly thin ideal will not be easy, but fashion institutions have the responsibility of initiating the revolution and making the change.
