Plus Size Models

Clothing Model   Fashion Calendar

A Market the Industry Had Underserved

The growth of plus-size modelling follows a commercial fact that took the industry a long time to act on: a large share of women wear the sizes the category covers, yet for decades the models used to sell clothing were drawn almost entirely from a far narrower range. Creating agency divisions specifically to locate and develop plus-size models is the structural response. A division does the same work as any other board in an agency, scouting, developing a portfolio, and matching models to clients, but it gives buyers a single place to look and gives models representation by people who understand the clients, sizing and presentation specific to the sector. Without that structure, bookings depended on individual designers deciding to make an exception. With it, plus-size booking became a routine part of how campaigns and catalogues are cast.

The retail structure mirrors the agency structure. Shoppers can find plus size clothing through dedicated retailer sections for women's plus size clothing stores and through wholesalers with their own plus size sections. That matters for modelling because a defined retail category needs defined imagery: catalogues, online stores and advertising for plus size ranges require models who wear the actual sizes being sold, photographed in the actual garments, so customers can judge fit and proportion on a body comparable to their own. A model in a smaller sample size pinned to shape cannot do that work, which is the practical reason the category cannot be served by conventional casting.

High Fashion Bookings and Public Recognition

The signal that the sector had reached high fashion came on the runway. Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano both cast plus-size models in their Spring 2006 showings in Paris, the centre of the couture calendar. A Paris showing is a statement to the whole industry, and casting beyond the standard runway size in that setting told agencies and advertisers that the category carried prestige as well as volume. Advertising followed the same direction. Emme's recognition in the United States was built partly on a Revlon cosmetics campaign, which placed a plus-size model in the beauty category that had been the most size-restrictive of all, and on mainstream magazine attention including People's 50 Most Beautiful People lists in 1994 and 1999.

Celebrity endorsement extended the shift beyond models. Celebrities who wear plus-size clothing increasingly attracted endorsement contracts as advertisers sought to extend size acceptance into film, television and music. Queen Latifah's ongoing advertising for CoverGirl cosmetics is the cited example, and in Canada actress Christina Schmidt appeared in the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation as a plus-size model and modelled for Torrid, a retailer serving the category. Some observers view the advent of plus-size modelling as a revival of the voluptuous classical ideal of feminine beauty, defined by sculptures such as the Venus de Medici and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the aesthetic ideal that generally prevailed through Western history until well into the twentieth century. That framing is worth keeping in proportion: the modern development is driven less by art history than by agencies, retailers and advertisers serving customers who were already there.

Models Associated with the Category

The models listed for plus-size clothing include Barbara Brickner, Charlotte Coyle, Sophie Dahl, Kate Dillon, Emme, Diane Hernandez, Lara Johnson, Syleena Johnson, Toccara Jones, Natalie Laughlin, Valerie Lefkowitz, Kimberley Locke, Anna Loukachenets, Carre Otis, Crystal Renn, Christina Schmidt, Tracie Stern, Mia Tyler and Liis Windischmann. A named list is useful because the category's history is carried by individuals who proved, booking by booking, that a model above the traditional sample size could carry a campaign, a cover and a runway look. For anyone researching the field, those names are the starting points for portfolios, agency representation and the plus size fashion definition that sits alongside this one.