Window displays across the globe may soon be getting a makeover.
For years now, the fashion world has opened its arms to plus-sized models like Ashley Graham, Olivia Campbell, and Zach Miko. Now, they’re also beginning to catch on to the need for plus-sized sewing mannequins.
From a student petition for fuller-figured dressmaker forms at the Parsons School of Design (which has already garnered nearly 8,500 signatures) to the unveiling of U.K. retailer Debenhams’ new size 16 mannequins, the normally skinny world of fashion seems to be embracing a wider and fuller range of body types.
That’s good news for advocates of body inclusivity, who say change has been slow in coming. For them, the shift toward more realistic mannequins is long past overdue. Finally, a revolution is underway, and those who believe in promoting a more positive and realistic body image are heralding the coming day when inclusivity will be the new norm. Better late than never.
Revolution or Trend?
Of course, the war is hardly won. Life isn’t a fairytale, and not everyone is in the mood to celebrate. While a number of designers, schools, and retailers have jumped on board joyfully, adding fuller clothes, models, and mannequins to their lineup, others are dragging their heels, resisting what they see as unwanted change (apparently the nonbelievers include some TV networks).
These naysayers are fighting back. Body positivity may be the latest in a long line of fashion trends, they say, but it will hardly last. The plus-sized revolution will be over and forgotten before you can say “fashion week.”
But, will it? Advocates of body inclusivity say, “Not so fast.” The truth is that the move is part trend, part business, part tectonic shift in attitudes about body image.
Changing Perceptions, Changing Hearts
At the heart of the matter is the debate over body image. Those who lobby for more inclusive sizing say it is about making clothes that real women feel comfortable wearing. It’s about reshaping attitudes toward the female form and expanding the heretofore narrow definition of “acceptable.” It’s about ensuring that dress forms in shop windows from Los Angeles to Hong Kong faithfully represent all women, not just the waif-like models who pose for glamour magazines.
They have a point. The average woman in the U.S. wears a size 14, and the average woman in the U.K. is not far behind. According to the fashion world, that puts them on the plus side. Hence the relative scarcity of size 14 mannequins in stores and design schools from New York to London.
An increasing number of people, however, believe it is the fashion world that is on the minus side of normal. These critics of the status quo have the numbers on their side. While a size two may be average on the runway, it’s far from common on the street.
Pitting Art Against Life, Truth Against Fiction
Of course, “normal” is a tricky concept, and the very idea of normality is at the center of the heated debate currently raging in the opinionated world of fashion. The question of the day is: Should models represent the ideal, or the real? Should the mannequins that adorn shop windows symbolize an ethereal principal, or the actual women who stop to gaze at them?
The truth is, many consider fashion to be an art form. According to one school of thought, designers strive to embody a conceptual form, an ideal for which to strive, not an inch-by-inch copy of the average woman. At the very least, artists who design clothes shouldn’t be told how to create their works of art. The shape, size, and form of a piece of clothing should be off-limits to the champions of social change.
Others say bosh to that. While apparel design might very well be an art form, there’s no ironclad rule that says art has to represent the imaginary. From da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to Canova’s statue of Paolina Borghese Bonaparte, the history of representation is chock full of stunningly real women. So, why have designers and retailers been so hesitant to illustrate the beauty of the everyday?
Reflecting the Market
That question becomes all the more pressing as consumer expectations shift. Idealistic notions aside, fashion is not, strictly speaking, a conceptual art form. It’s an applied art form. It is a business. That means retailers must cater to their customer base.
With 67% of apparel consumers spending more than $17 billion on larger sized outfits every year, it’s becoming more and more difficult for retailers to ignore the plus size market. Throw in the fact that female shoppers are significantly more likely to buy an outfit when they see it worn by a like-size model, and it simply makes good business sense to diversify representations.
It’s not just women, either. While the push for inclusivity has typically centered on the notion of female body image, it has recently expanded to include gentlemen as well. Plus-size male models are also beginning to make their presence felt in the fashion world, and that is only upping the stakes for designers and retailers.
Perhaps that’s why the world of fashion is finally standing up and taking notice. From designer Rachel Roy’s decision to come out with a “Curvy” line, to H&M’s use of full-sized models in their runway shows, the revolution has officially started. In fact, so many have stepped up to the plate in recent months that 2016 could well be considered the year of inclusivity.
Creating a Positive Ideal
Of course, it’s not all dollars and cents. While the bottom line may have something to do with changing perceptions, it’s hardly the main driver behind the push for a greater selection of plus size dress forms.
Instead, advocates say it is more about making men and women feel good about themselves. By presenting an unattainable ideal, they say, designers are helping form dangerous misperceptions and fomenting the kind of mean-spirited comments that litter the Twitter-verse these days. That puts unnecessary pressure on the vast majority of people, particularly women, to conform to an impossible archetype.
In this world of virtual trolls and hobgoblins, it’s hard enough for a woman to wake up every morning feeling good about herself, and tricky enough to get through an entire day with her chin up and her head held high; she doesn’t need an entire business dedicated to promoting an unrealistic standard of beauty.
With so many virtual (and real-life) ogres preying on the insecurities of women who may not fit a size zero mold, some are demanding action, and they’re placing the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of designers and retailers.
A Healthy Ideal
As always, there is a counterargument. Some say it’s not about image; it’s about health. Detractors claim that heavy-set models and their mannequin counterparts are guilty of normalizing unhealthy lifestyles. With obesity an ever-growing problem, why should the fashion industry promote an unwholesome image?
If only the connection between weight and health were so straightforward, they might have a point. The truth is that what is healthy for one woman may not be healthy for another. For a woman whose body type is more suited to a size 12, dieting to squeeze into that size 6 dress may be the unhealthy choice.
Not only that, but many cry foul when fashion insiders fall back on the health argument. Isn’t it a bit hypocritical, after all? An industry that has long encouraged eating disorders by featuring excessively thin models is hardly in the position to speak about healthy dietary habits.
Forming the Next Generation of Fashion Designers
Nowadays, with so many young designers taking on the challenge of fashioning plus size clothes, the demand for more realistic dress forms will only increase.
That’s essentially what the Parsons School of Design petition states. Created by junior Nayyara Chue, the appeal is one sign among many that the next generation of budding designers is more conscious than ever about the need to promote body positivity. Chue, who says she had to create her own mannequin out of duct tape, argues that schools should be supplying students with more dressmaker forms that range from size 18 to 24.
With a greater number of students choosing to design clothes for an increasing consumer base, it’s no wonder there are more calls than ever for fuller sized mannequins in the nation’s fashion schools. As perceptions change, and the market grows, that trend is likely to endure well into the future.
For information regarding measuring for plus size clothing and dress form options, visit our plus size dress form page.