TORONTO, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - While the size debates in the fashion industry rage on, one web site — the Judgment of Paris (www.judgmentofparis.com) — has been calling for larger models for over a decade.
“For years, curvy women have lobbied retailers to use genuinely full-figured models,” site administrator Heinrich Saint-Germain explains. “These calls have largely been ignored. In fact, the plus-size fashion industry has flouted public wishes by making its models even skinnier. But shrinking the size of plus-size models to gain grudging acceptance from the anti-plus ‘regular’ fashion industry does nothing but eliminate the larger body type from fashion altogether.”
But what about the claims that, according to survey results, full-figured women don’t wish to see larger models, and that thinner models are “aspirational”?
“Myths,” Saint-Germain argues. “No one has ever revealed what these supposed surveys looked like. Many variables that have nothing to do with size could skew such results.
“Far from being aspirational, faux-plus models distract from the clothing. Customers focus on inadequate model size and loathe the false advertising. But when the models are authentically full-figured, customers are satisfied and can appreciate the fashion.”
And what about padding thinner models to pass them off as plus-size?
“Ridiculous and offensive,” Saint-Germain states. “It’s a clear acknowledgment that the models are too small. Instead of taking semi-plus models and padding them, companies should use more generously proportioned models who need no artificial enhancement.”
So why does the practice exist?
“Some plus-fashion professionals have a minus-size bias and favor models with thin-looking features,” Saint-Germain contends. “But that’s not what the public wants. Customers wish to see models who truly look plus-size, whose faces and figures exhibit actual fullness. Aspirational beauty, yes — but in a size 18.”
In response to the common excuse that modeling agencies don’t supply larger talent, Saint-Germain identifies numerous prominent fuller-figured models.
“At this year’s Full Figured Fashion Week, models such as Kelsey Olson, Katherine Roll, and Lindsey Garbelman, size 16s and 18s, were among the most popular stars. These curvier models wore the same fashions on the runway that the participating brands typically display on skinnier models in their print advertising, and in every case, the clothing looked better on the fuller-figured models.”
Saint-Germain also highlights advances in the international market. “Vogue Italia gave Sophie Sheppard, a British size 18, a five-page editorial in its July issue. In Brazil’s recent Fashion Weekend Plus Size, the top model was Mayara Russi, a U.S. size 22.
“There is no reason why the American industry can’t feature size-22 models — or at least size 18s. If one agency doesn’t offer models in this size, a client can go to another agency and find them there. These models do exist, and the public is clamoring for them.”
About Sarah Zammit
