Size 12 Models Cause Controversy at London Fashion Week
;)
;)
Stylist quits over decision to feature three models size 12 and over.
London Fashion Week finally saw sense this week with a breakthrough for beautiful normal sized models who eschewed the industry demand for size zero.
Three stunning models from 12+ modelling agency were featured in Mark Fast’s catwalk collection in a landmark move away from the norms of ultra-thin physiques. The three curvy beauties, each between the sizes of 12 to 14, wore the trademark Fast design knitted dresses, causing a furore at the exhibition.
Amanda May, managing director for the designer told the BBC: “There’s this idea that only thin and slender women are able to wear Mark’s dresses and he wanted to combat that.” The results speak for themselves, with a wave of public approval for the models in all their natural splendour.
Ms May was eager to spread the word that women of all sizes could enjoy the tight knitted dresses that have become the Mark Fast trademark: “We wanted women to know they don’t have to be size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress – curvier women can look even better in one.”
Sarah Watkinson, founder of the 12+ agency told The Daily Telegraph: “Every time I think things are progressing, they end up going back to how they’ve always been. I hope this has sparked lasting changes.”
Health concerns have previously been raised over the pressure put on young girls to achieve size zero figures. Today’s support for the busty babes is a sure sign that size zero is not what everyone is after.
What do you think of the curvy ladies on the catwalk at London Fashion Week?
Tell us your thoughts in a comment below.
This is fucking ridiculous. Modeling is a career that has criteria like any other, and these women simply don’t meet the standard. Just because our industrialized nations have high rates of obesity, we don’t need to look at large women to feel better about ourselves. Maybe we shouldn’t feel better about ourselves, perhaps we should just lose some weight. Models are models for a reason: people love looking at perfection; it’s pleasing to the eye. Models work hard for their bodies and now they have to watch as women who have put no effort into looking good try to take over the industry. It’s like sending someone into a career without them having had any school or training. I get that we all love overcoming adversities and accepting everyone as they are. Yes, this is all fine and good and makes for beautiful stories, but we’ve taken it too far. I’m sure these women have many other talents in other respects but instead of embracing those, they’ve chosen to focus on their weakness and make it the center of their lives. It’s like a dyslexic who’s great at math becoming a writer instead of a mathematician because he feels the need to focus on his flaw, it’s silly.
SO basically you are saying that we have to be a size 0 to look good i’m 15 and i’m size 12/14 and I feel good in what I wear. It’s people like you who make this world a sick and obsessive place.
Are you a man by any chance? Or just completely shallow? These women aren’t ‘large’, they just don’t feel the need to starve themselves to get to the industry-standard size zero. Your comment about ‘maybe we should just lose some weight’ is just plain ignorant – do you know how many normal sized young girls are influenced by models such as this, and go on to have eating disorders through trying to look like this? It is physically impossible for a lot of women to get to a size zero without having to severely punish their bodies and starve themselves.
Now I understand that some women naturally are size zero, and we shouldn’t be bashing them for being skinny. That is naturally how they are. But the problem that most people have with size zero models is that they are the ONLY thing you see on the catwalk and in magazines. All women see this and feel that size zero is the norm, and that they are not ‘beautiful’ because they are not skinny. Of course designers claim that they use skinny models so that you focus on the clothes and not the woman – but women and young girls in the real world do NOT do this. They look at the models. They see that the models are skinny and feel that there is something wrong with them because they are not.
As for your comment, ‘models work hard for their bodies and now they have to watch as women who have put no effort into looking good try to take over the industry’ – how dare you! How DARE you say that just because a model is ‘plus sized’ she doesn’t put any effort into looking good. All models work damned hard to look the way they do, no matter their size. These women have just accepted the fact that it is impossible for them to reach size zero without making themselves unhealthy, as they are not built to be that way. Some models are naturally size zero, and good for them – we should celebrate how naturally beautiful they are. But some models clearly should not be that skinny, and they are damaging their health by staying that way. These are the types of models we shouldn’t see on the catwalk – the ones who clearly ARE starving themselves thin. This sends out the wrong message to young girls and women, and this should be stopped.
A range of differently-sized women is what is needed on catwalks to show the world that women can be beautiful in ALL sizes. Perfection is NOT starving yourself to be a size zero; it is feeling comfortable and confident in your own body, whether it is a size 0 or a size 20.
How narrow minded are you?! Not all women are size 0 yet they like to look good and feel good about themselves. There should be a variety of models used on the catwalk because there is a variety of women out there who all buy into fashion.
Ohh and as for the ‘models work hard for their bodies’ comment, yeah they sure do… they starve themselves and end up with eating disorders. What wonderful role models for women! Ohh and since when was size 0 natural anyway? Yeah, starve yourself thin cos the fashion industry tells you it’s the only way you can be beautiful.
I’m naturally a size zero a**hole. I don’t starve myself and there are PLENTY of people just like me all over the world.
First of all, models are not suppose to represent “perfection”. Models are a size 0 because the clothes are suppose to “hang” on their bodies. When a model walks down a runway, the fashion designers are not looking to see if you can pinch the fat, they’re looking at the clothes. Stick women provide a “unbiased” look at the clothes. And those women are anything but “flawed” you retard.
What is “normal sized” supposed to mean? You could say “average sized” but “normal” tells all us naturally skinny women that there is something wrong with us. I was teased all through middle school, junior high, and most of high school for being skinny and not having big enough boobs; I won’t go through that crap all over again.
I didn’t learn to love and appreciate my body until I was an adult. What little self esteem I did have about my tits in high school (shock!) came from seeing those lean models in magazines and on TV. I didn’t look like a porn star, but I sure as hell looked like a model. I wish I had known in high school that gay fashion designers weren’t the only men who liked us “petite” women; it would have made my teen years way less stressful.
I hate articles like this because it always degrades to bashing skinny women. The problem isn’t thin women, it’s using size 0s *exclusively* to model clothes. There should be diversity to show everyone – men and women – the diversity of the female form. For some of us, this IS our natural weight and whatever your views about using thin women for modeling, keep the fashion designers and magazine editors in your sights and leave bashing skinny girls out of it.
I started having a positive body image when I realized that it’s a Catch 22. If I gain weight I’ll hate my stomach, and if I lose weight I’ll hate the size of my tits. So I might as well just be happy with my natural “default” body weight rather than chase after the impossible.
While I completely respect the intent and the curvier models looked gorgeous, it’s a damn shame none of them could walk properly. It’s important to make bold statements such as this one, but at least use models who can do their job properly.
Yeah, I was really excited to see this… really a shame the plus-sized models just did NOT know how to walk properly.
I don’t get it. They look like all other models to me. How did people even notice that they’re slightly bigger and why would that cause a ‘controversy’?
Oh – BTW any North Americans here, size 12 in the UK is an 8 in Canada / USA.
This is perfect! I love this news! Hope the big fashion brands and shows were all like this one!
I think this is a change, but I agree with a few of the other comments. They would have looked a lot better and displayed the clothes if they walked better, a hand on a hip walk wouldn’t have gone awry.
Be “fierce” as Tyra Banks likes to say… All in all, a nice job.
And @Lucy: I don’t think they mean your body type, because I know there are a lot of women who are naturally size zero. However, they mean the women who weren’t meant to be a size zero, who’s BMI is supposed to leave them at a size 2, or a 8 or whatever. If you’re a natural size zero then don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. I’m sorry that happened in school, however don’t let it cloud what the true message is that they are trying to give: you are beautiful (a model) no matter what size you are.
I read somewhere that size zero women appeal to alpha-type influential men, and that it somehow relates to low BMI being a marker for intrinsic submissiveness. This in itself tends to blow the “gay designer appeal” myth out of the water, something which was known all along by heterosexuals of both gender who’ve seen the intrinsic appeal of model-type body shapes.
This was referenced with a number of psychometric studies which correlated submissive personality traits in women with physical attractiveness, BMI, and general mental/physical health.
The submissive women scored more highly on indices of physical attractiveness (apparently based on a subjective scoring system using several dozen volunteers of both genders), physical and mental health, and had significantly lower BMIs than women who had psychometrically masculinised personality traits. They also had higher life satisfaction, higher chances of success in long-term relationships and were generally more “productive” with regard to fertility.
I admit there may be confounders, but if there is indeed a mind-body link correlate which determines body weight, manifesting through behavioural traits such as dietary habit, then this might be one of the factors to consider.
I doubt the feminists would be pleased with such a theory though. They’ll no doubt contrive an ad-hoc (and likely fallacious) rebuttal based on liberal dosings of sophistry, denial and selective perception.
I hate when people say models should all be a certain size, big OR small! The focus should be on how talented they are, how attractive they are, and they should be healthy. This would create the image that healthy women in all sizes are beautiful.
Any hack with a sewing machine and a pair of scissors can throw together cloth and make it look good on size zero. A truly talented designer can create clothes that look good on every woman of every size. Something that “hangs” on a size zero never looks good on a size 12 because it is usually poorly cut