Gianna Picioccio
By: Gianna Picioccio
Tags: Modeling, Fashion, Plus Size, Body Image, Diversity

Professor Wedlock

EN 221

13 December 2020

A More Fit Next Top Model

Fashion has been a potent influence in the modern world. For certain people in our everyday lives, fashion is something they learn about or buy in shops. Fashion, in a broad context, means all things and a multinational company representing a variety of business events, ranging from the unglamorous realms of mass clothing manufacturing to runway fashion shows and the related fashion press news. The modeling industry plays a huge part in the development of the world of fashion. Millions of people dream of being involved in the mainstream fashion industry, particularly these little girls. Their impression of modeling from what they see on social media and in magazines is that models have the best life ever. They are praised by viewers and bowed down to by society. They are the representation of their own “look” and self-expression which for various circumstances and particular customers and designs, often alter their output to project an acceptable image. In this context, considering the fact that these young girls have already pursued or achieved entrance into the world of fashion, they are now motivated to see the life of the fashion model as an ideal illusion. To say that many young girls regard becoming a fashion model as one of the most exciting and attractive futures possible is no misconception. A tall, beautiful runway model is the fantasy of any girl as this is the definition of a model seen. What an ordinary young woman sees as an ideal picture for a woman is long beautiful legs, slim body, and shiny hair. You immediately feel jealous of your own image if you don’t look like the photos of those beautiful Victoria’s Secret models. Models are praised as they have a big salary, fortune, enjoy time on yachts with popular celebrities and even get on the Vogue cover list, it’s a perfect life to have. In our young women’s lives, the fashion modeling industry has been the most prominent outlet. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, or sometimes starving to resemble the models themselves. What they are ignorant of is that history sees women doing whatever they can over the centuries to fit into the present cookie cutter mold of a mainstream, accepted culture. Girls flip through catalogues, feeds on social media, and shows on television and don’t see girls that look like them in the fashion industry. They then go on to compare themselves and pick apart how they look which leads to disorders and dysmorphism.

The average American woman weighs about 170 pounds which is labeled as above average weight in the modeling community (Marcin). We need to add models that are above the waist measurement of 22 inches and incorporate models that weigh more than 150 pounds to make the outside viewers of girls feel accepted in society since they are just as beautiful as the skinny models in the industry. It is clear that views towards fashion and form and size diversity are shifting, and a grassroots movement is being propelled by the growing presence and advocacy of plus-size models in the industry. This topic is a very important and relevant topic today because the fashion industry plays a very significant role in the development of the female appearance construct in culture. Not only can unrealistically slim models encourage a dangerous image of attractiveness for the millions of people who seek to imitate them, but the models themselves still have tough expectations. Due to the population of the United States becoming more diverse, in order to fix the problem of not incorporating plus-sizes and the cause of eating disorders and anorexia, marketers and advertisers will have to integrate models of different sizes and have a broader consumer demographic.

In the modeling industry, in order to be able to get the part of being a model in a company’s campaign, you have to fit the requirements. Many people when they think of modeling it means walking in a fashion show, but there are many outlets for the job of modeling. Yes, many different companies have different preferences and requirements for girls to model for them, however for the majority of them they have the same stereotypical model requirements. Runway (cat-walk) modelling, usually consists of filming for editorials, high-end brands, runway and lifestyle campaigns for high-end celebrities. Usually, the height is between 5'9"-6", the bust is between 32"-36", the waist is between 22"-26" and the hips should be between 33"-35". Many women of course, do not follow these expectations, which is why fashion designers are normally paid the most and work the most. Many women don’t fit these precise requirements, which means you can’t walk the runway and agencies don’t allow exceptions. Furthermore, if a little girl’s dream was to be a runway model, her dreams can’t come true unless she grows up to be a skinny tall woman. Another lucrative modeling genre that is slightly less restrictive than fashion modeling is print (catalog, editorial) modeling. The height is usually between 5'8" and 5'11" and typical measurements are as follows: 32"-35" bust, 33"-35" hips, and 22"-26" waist. The two most specific modeling genres are catalog and fashion. This is why they are the most lucrative. Lastly, models often tend to have specific measurement requirements for lingerie/swimsuit modeling. Typical measurements of lingerie are: height 5'7"-6", bust 32"-35" C cup, waist 22"-26" and hips 33"-35". A bikini model, but with a slightly larger bust size, will be similar to a lingerie model (Best Agencies). There are many little more side modeling jobs like for commercials or on for a specific job like having tattoos or piercings to advertise for that specific place, but these are just the mainstream modeling jobs that we are focusing on which require such elaborate and concise rules. Compared to the average measurements for a woman which are a waist size of 38.7 inches, the height of 5’3’’, and the weight of 170 pounds, there is a drastic gap in the measurements for becoming a model(Holland). With this information we can compare how many girls in the US can’t become a runway model or an editorial model due to these ridiculous requirements. Many girls’ dream is to be a model and they can’t accomplish this if they don’t fit the slim percent of girls that do to be in this industry. The percentage of women that have the sort of body type of tall, naturally lean, broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, small-breasted, and long-legged is about 5% in the US. Most fashion designers are smaller than 98% of American women. Models weighed 8% less than the average woman twenty years earlier. Today in the 21 century they weigh 23 percent less and many fall into an anorexic spectrum of weights. An iconic model who is seen in many ad campaigns and on the runway is Kate Moss who is 5'7 “ and weighs 95 pounds. That’s 30 percent less than the average body weight (Levine and Smolak).

One of the biggest companies seen in stores and on television that leans towards the appeal of women is Victoria Secret. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is shown on TV every year. In high heels, skinny models with crystal-studded bras strut down the runway and women across the nation are all immediately body-shamed into an extreme dieting regime. The Victoria Secret Fashion Show is the most popular fashion show that people watch with a median of around 4 million viewers. Mostly all of those viewers were female. The big question is; why do women watch the Victoria Secret Fashion Show? To answer this question Spoon University did random interviews and spoke with women to ask them why they watch this fashion show on television. One woman. Claire Waggoner who was interviewed said, “It makes me feel fit by association, I think because I watch it over dinner usually and it makes me skip my nightly dessert, so then I go to bed feeling like an athletic goddess. But then the next day is usually a downer and I’m like, ‘wow, I look nothing like them’” (Suss). Many girls that watch this show feel either a personal connection with the models and look up to them as role models that they want to be. The whole concept of this fashion show is to show off the lingerie,scenery, and music, but that’s not all why they present this show. The response dates from the nineteenth century. Since the Victorian era, mass-market lingerie has become a thing that is decidedly male-oriented; fetishistic corsets made damsels swoon; petticoats kept them too far from straying. It was underwear imprisoning women. Established in 1977, Victoria’s Secret claimed to emancipate their buyers, but maintained the trend by enclosing them with ill-fitting underwire and constrictive bustiers combined with thongs and femine costumes. To increase the attractiveness of the product on show, beautiful models have been used in advertising. This whole concept was to pick out these skinny perfect body girls who had the body that was the definition of sex appeal created from society back then, so that men can enjoy watching these fashion shows. However, the use of a model category that currently represents just a small fraction of the population has become common over the past few decades. Ads today are packed with models that are exceedingly, if not dangerously, slim. If people use models in ads as comparison points for self-assessment, over-exposure to slim media models can contribute to a distorted image of appearance. Now, they tried to cover up that first idea by saying how these fashion shows are made for women to feel good about themselves and buy the pretty lingerie they see on these beautiful girls, hoping it will look like that on them. Razek added, “All of these women would be the best looking girl any guy had ever seen — guys are easy,” “Women have to say, ‘I want to look like that, I want to have that spirit or that confidence and strength.’’ While the brand has not disappointed Razek’s instincts, Victoria’s Secret has faced scrutiny, especially in the body inclusivity department. They have not worked for models of different styles of bodies (Opelka).

For decades, the fashion industry has argued that attractive women actually pay less to dress thinner models, which might be true, but this statement is losing relevance with plus-size clothes in demand more than ever and increasingly lucrative. One just needs to look at Aerie’s remarkable market growth with a range of shapes and sizes among its models with no picture retouching, iconic and well-known plus-size model Ashley Graham modeled for Sports Illustrated and Iskra Lawrence modeling for Aerie is evidence. By appealing to regular women through social media, Aerie is gaining market share in the intimate segment. For teen lingerie and clothing brand Aerie, comparable revenue rose 38 percent in the first quarter of 2018. In the next two years, American Eagle, the parent firm, expects that the brand will be worth $1 billion. CNBC wrote an article on Aerie and said that Jennifer Foyle the Chief creative Officer of the company got a two-page, handwritten letter from an Aerie customer which incorporated photos and thanks for what the lingerie and apparel company has done for her body image. Foyle recently told CNBC, “That’s something that happens every day in this brand and that’s what makes us so special” (Ell). In 2014, Aerie started their no filter “Aerie Real” campaign, using regular-looking models. Women shoppers may also use the hashtag “AerieReal,” Foyle said to share selfies of themselves with all their weaknesses. Now everybody is sort of doing it because it’s the latest thing to do because it’s fun to be body-accepting,” said Janine Stichter, an equity analyst at Jefferies, who tracks the intimate market. The campaign is a stark contrast from other lingerie brands that showcase near-flawless models” (Ell). As the new trend in this generation is all about uplifting body confidence, this is a great attribute to their company and Aerie is a proven result that when adding in plus-sizes to their clothing it adds up in the long run. As Aerie continues to grow, the company’s stock is up 114 percent year over year and is rising at a much faster rate. In the first year, the company’s same-store revenue growth grew 38 percent, on top of a 25 percent gain in 2017. Aerie was valued at $500 million last year, up from $200 million in 2017. Over the next five years the company is gunning for a $1 billion valuation. Other fashion companies should view these numbers and jump on the amazing bandwagon of including a wide spread of sizes. Just take a look at Aerie now compared to Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret has approximately 20 percent of the underwear and bra market which is down from a high of more than 22 percent in the past year, the organization is rapidly losing market share. Aerie continues to capture market share, smaller lingerie startups are still seeking to take some of the market, such as ThirdLove, LIVELY and True & Co. “And that is why it is important to compete,” Stichter said. “For a long time, [Victoria’s Secret] was the only player with significant scale in the intimates market. Now you see a competitor like Aerie that’s becoming sizable and a real threat.”(Ell). We will begin to shop from stores that share our values. We ought to support those in the struggle to win the battle for inclusiveness of body and appearance by proving to the establishment that compassion can be beneficial. Designers, editors and marketing companies do not describe perfection. It is characterized by us. Let’s make sure that we behave like that.

Continuing on the topic of adding plus-sizes to companies, in terms of revenue, during the projected time frame from 2020 to 2028, the global plus size women’s apparel industry stood at US$178.56 billion in 2019, rising at a CAGR of 4.3 percent (Dublin). The need for plus-sizes is increasing as we speak. Asia Pacific led the industry and was projected to see a similar pattern in the years that followed. Continuous spending on fashion goods by customers around the world is continuing. Among the clothing goods, the fastest growth over the projected period is anticipated for plus size apparels. Plus-size buyers are searching for choices that serve a luxury standard equal to women belonging to other ranges of size. With the increasing demand, distributors are concentrating on launching plus size clothing. Walmart, for example, launched a new line in 2018, Terra, and Sky for the plus sizes, in order to attract more buyer interest. In order to satisfy the demands of the buyers, high street stores such as River Island, Marks & Spencer, New Look stock a whole option for the plus size ladies (Dublin). Such a move was predicted by the corporations to boost the sales growth in the plus size apparel segment in the years that followed. In addition, the market for such apparels that complement the new fashion trends has also enhanced body morale among the plus size females. In order to satisfy customer needs and desires, manufacturers and retailers have observed an uptick in demand for plus size garments and should be and some companies are focused on new product releases. However, this can lead to an argument of how the rise of the plus size women’s apparel industry on the market is leading to a growing prevalence of obesity and overweight problems.

In claiming that the plus size clothing market is driving the obesity crisis, a doctor, Dr. Mirian Stoppard, has sparked a fierce discussion on Good Morning Britain. She spoke on the ITV breakfast show where she claimed that being overweight normalizes plus size models and a wider variety of clothing styles. Speaking on the program, she proposed that women who are overweight should opt for smaller sizes to enable them to lose weight. She said, “‘I think that the plus sizes and glamorous overweight models are actually making people think that it’s healthy to be like that and think that their weight is a sign of health and it absolutely isn’t. My concern as a doctor is that the obesity crisis which I think is being fuelled by plus size clothes is really a very dangerous phenomenon and we should try to be making it better not colluding with it because it’s deeply unhealthy to be overweight’” (Cliff). Dr Miriam recommended applying stickers on bigger sizes when asked what her answer would be, urging consumers to opt for a smaller size along with weight loss tips. Viewers watching at home were astonished by the opinions of the doctor who took their feelings on Twitter to share. One person said, One wrote: “‘This is a dangerous view. We’re just getting somewhere in tackling eating disorders, now you’re telling vulnerable young girls not only that they’re fat if they’re size 14 but unhealthy too’” (Cliff). Even though she has a claim, she includes no evidence towards this argument or supports it with any facts or statistics to back it up. If she wanted to validate this “fact” why didn’t she include statistics on how plus-sizes lead to obesity? Everyone has access to fashion no matter how big they are, we live in a free country and there is no specific weight you have to be. Yes, obesity is a problem, but the argument of adding in plus-sizes to fashion companies doesn’t mean this will lead to people becoming overweight since they have access to bigger sizes. This means people who are over the available sizes can wear those same clothes. The bottom line is, regardless of their weight, everyone should be able to feel beautiful in the clothes they wear. It’s rude, disrespectful, and inhumane to say you can’t because you’re overweight.

Experts and doctors like previous believe plus-size clothes fuels obesity, but because of their skeletal frame, the women we are all used to seeing on the catwalks encourage eating disorders such as anorexia. Former Vogue editor, Kristie Clements, made observations about some of the models she had worked with. She starts by explaining, “‘I began to recognise the signs that other models were using different methods to stay svelte. I was dressing a model from the US on a beauty shoot, and I noticed scars and scabs on her knees” (Clements). When she asked her about them she said, nonchalantly: “Oh yes. Because I’m always so hungry, I faint a lot.” She thought it was normal to pass out every day, sometimes more than once. On another shoot she was chatting with one of the top Australian models during lunch. Clements said she had just moved to Paris and was sharing a small apartment with another model and asked her how that was working out. The model stated, “I get a lot of time by myself actually,” she said, picking at her salad. “My flatmate is a ‘fit model’, so she’s in hospital on a drip a lot of the time” (Clements). A fit model is one that is used in the studios or workrooms of top designers and is the body around which the clothes are made. It is frightening that the perfect body form used as a starting point for a collection should be a girl on the verge of hospitalization from malnutrition. The more she worked with designers, the more apparent the deprivation of food became to her she said. Dietary staples were cigarettes and Diet Coke and the tell-tale symptoms of anorexia are often seen, where a girl grows a light fuzz on her face and arms as her body tries to stay warm. Clements has never heard a model say “I’m hot” in her entire career she added. Society is understandably concerned about the challenges around body image and eating disorders, and by fashion journals, the unhealthy and unrealistic images being sent to young women. Magazine editors are in the immediate line of fire when it comes to who can be responsible for the representation of excessively slim models, but it is more nuanced than that. The “fit model begins the fashion process: around a live, in-house skeleton, designer outfits are made. Few designers have a model with a curvy or petite suit. Then these collections are sent to the runway, worn by tall, pin-thin women, so the designer likes to see the clothes fall like that. Casting directors and stylists who have a view of the kind of woman they intend to wear these clothes will also be interested. They want her to be young, skinny, and very tall. On a casting, a model who puts on a few kilos will not get into a sample size and gets reprimanded by her agency. She starts eating, loses weight, and is congratulated by others for how fantastic she looks. But she believes losing more would make her much more attractive instead of remaining at that weight, and attempting to sustain it by a sensible diet and exercise. And nobody is asking her to quit. Girls who are unable to eat apart from their breasts may have surgical reductions. They then enter into risky conduct habits that continue to be recognized by the industry as par for the course. This questionable feat was normally followed by intense exhaustion, mood swings, self-harming, and binge feeding as a model who was having decent work in Australia hungered herself down two sizes in order to be cast in the overseas shows (Clements). Clements continues to tell stories of things she has heard from models on how they stay so skinny. This just demonstrates how having such harsh distinct requirements to be a model is horrible for not only the human body physically, but mentally as well. Everyone believes modeling is all sunshine and rainbows until they actually hear what some of these models have to go through to stay or get into these cruel modeling industries. These modeling industries also need to change their requirements to stop these disorders and harm to one’s body from occurring by extending and being more lenient.

There has been a small growth in plus-size styles over the past decade. It is crucial for young people today to be able to grasp where plus size fashion works in the fashion industry, whether it’s involved with luxury or fast fashion. In more modern years, however, body image and body positivity have grown to become confused with questions about morals and wellness. In their day-to-day lives, many experience this in combination with socially responsible minds who are readily influenced by pop-culture. Today, this issue is a very significant and topical topic since the fashion industry plays a very important role in the growth of the construction of female beauty in culture. Not only can unrealistically thin models cultivate a dangerous illusion of beauty for the millions of people who are trying to emulate them, but they also have tough perceptions of the models themselves. Since the population of the United States is getting increasingly affluent, retailers and advertisers would have to incorporate models in all types to have a wider target demographic in order to address the issue of not integrating plus-sizes and the cause of eating disorders and anorexia.