A-Plus for Plus-Size!
By Erika Davidoff
There are tons of valid complaints about fashion campaigns right now. But there is one notable positive trend: things are looking up for plus-sized fashion.
Though, the term "plus-sized" leaves much to be desired. “I believe it's a tag we should do without,” model Robin Lawley told the NY Daily News. “It segregates us from the mainstream fashion world, which means we only go to castings and jobs when our size is requested.”
This month Ralph Lauren hired Lawley to be its first ever plus-size model. She has an interesting history: she began modeling at age 16 but quit for a time after facing severe pressure to lose weight and to focus on studies in France. "But then I saw plus-size models doing well," she said on The Daily Show. "I decided I want that, I want to be in magazines."
So she signed as a plus-size model with an Australian agency. Since then, she's been featured in Vogue, Elle, and now Ralph Lauren.
Lawley is absolutely gorgeous. But what’s even better is that she has an admirable attitude and is poised to fight the toxicity of the media. In an atmosphere characterized by unrealistic expectations, she represents a refreshing bit of realism. As she told the Daily Mail, "I genuinely want companies to take notice and start being more realistic about who their customer really is. I hope to keep breaking down those barriers."
In other news, Hot Topic has recently revamped its plus-size brand, called Torrid, by getting rid of its patronizing canine representative, Mr. Pinkerton, and introducing a new "I am Torrid" campaign.
"Over the last year, the fashion industry has evolved to portray a more inspirational view of the plus sized woman - a move we applaud," Lisa Stanley, Torrid's VP of Marketing, told 4-traders. "Our new, more aspirational brand image reflects this shift and is empowering to our customers. Our customers want real fashion that is flattering to their figures, and they want to be portrayed as they are: sexy, fearless and beautiful. The 'I am Torrid' campaign tells that story."
It's a good start, at least.
There's still a long way to go until we reach a fashion world like the one Lawley envisions, where models of all sizes are viewed equally. But magazines and clothing lines seem to be beginning to realize that their size-2 models rarely reflect actual women, who, on average, are a size 12. As such, some campaigns are looking a little less objectifying and a little more real.