Plus size and dreading the summer season looking for cool clothes? Well, you are not alone! Very few brands caters for so-called “bigger” sizes (we like to call them normal sizes, dammit!) – and even brands who flaunts curvy models in their adds tends to stock most sizes small and medium. This was one of the complaints about H&M/Moschino collabs that featured larger models in the campaign but not many larger sizes in the shops.
We have often wondered just why designers don’t tap into this market, as there are hundred of thousands of people who would love to buy cool clothes but cannot find much. What it boils right down to is that anyone size 14 and over are robbed of the right to express themselves fully through their clothes because they simply just have to choose what little is available to them.
I remember reading the interview with top model Tess Holliday in Cosmo once and how she gets harassed for having self confidence enough to be happy in her own skin. It is hard to believe but wow the hate is definately there.
Well, this talk from 2018 with Dr. Valerie Steele and fashion journalist Tim Gunn is a revelation, because it puts into words what we’ve always suspected but never dared to think was true: designers just don’t LIKE people like you. Some designers actually claim they do not WANT you to wear their clothes – if you are over size 12.
OK, it comes as no surprise that the fashion industry has some messed up ideas about women’s bodies…. but to hear two people with so much insight into the international fashion business say it so openly feels like a revelation…. treat yourselves! Oh and if you are a designer or a teacher at a design school – why not train designers in designing larger sizes? If you want to design larger sizes and cannot find anybody good enough to teach you – let us know. We would love to hear from you on this subject!