While fashion lovers soak in a week of New York runway shows that put trends like sheer paneling, knitwear and creative layering on the list of up-and-coming looks, keen eyes on social media have started a conversation about size, color and disability inclusivity that has put one relatively lesser-known brand in the spotlight for its diverse runway show: Selkie.
Models of diverse size, skin tone and ability were featured by designer Kimberley Gordon during the ... [+]
Several TikTok and Instagram influencers have jumped on the bandwagon to praise Selkie this New York Fashion Week for a show that included looks worn by a wheelchair user, models of all sizes, diverse skin tones, ages and gender identities in an industry that has historically catered to a slim, European beauty standard.
Influencers like Remi Bader, who has amassed 2.3 million followers with her honest videos about shopping as a plus-sized woman, and Mandy Lee, whose initial video about Selkie’s runway show drew 2.4 million views, have praised Selkie for creating “a new standard” in fashion inclusivity.
While the average dress size worn by American women is a 16, studies show, the number of designers who cast two or more plus- or mid-sized models is actually declining, the New York Times reported, as legacy designers like Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and Gucci continue to exclude models with diverse body types.
Chrisitian Siriano, whose New York show was attended by queer stars like Harvey Guillén and Laverne Cox, was praised for including several plus-sized models of color on his runway in revealing and form-fitting outfits.
Coach, which has been commended for its body inclusivity since designer Stuart Vevers styled curve model Ashley Graham for U.K. Vogue after several other designers "flatly refused," featured several plus-size models in some of the brand's more revealing, sheer looks.
Michael Kors, who has routinely cast famous curve models Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser, did so again this season,and Adore Me, a lingerie brand that offers 77 size combinations on its website, reflected its inclusivity on the runway with several barely-there looks on bigger models.
Other brands that cast diverse body types include PatBo, Eckhaus Latta, Collina Strada, Kim Shui, Staud, RAAS and Jovani.
"Nobody is doing diversity and inclusion on the runway quite like Selkie,” TikToker Mandy Lee said. “For many of these girls, it was their runway debut.”
A performer dances on the runway during Selkie SS24 Collection at New York Fashion Week at The St ... [+]
The decade-long push for more size inclusivity at all levels of fashion has had mixed results. While some ready-to-wear companies continue to extend their plus-sized offerings—H&M started selling sixes from 2XL to 4XL this spring—some like Loft and Old Navy have scaled back their extended range of sizes amid falling overall sales. Ascena, owner of Loft, Ann Taylor and plus-sized retailer Lane Bryant, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. In the high fashion space, the success of several plus-sized models and an overall push toward body positivity has led to calls for inclusion of all body types on runways, but a majority of legacy brands continue to cater only to thin clientele. Of the 327 brands that showed collections at fashion weeks in the spring, only 30 offered styles in size 20 or higher, InStyle reported, and only 19% of all women's apparel sold in 2021 was considered plus size. Credence Research, a market research and counseling firm, valued the global plus-size women's clothing market at $195 billion in 2021 with an estimated $322 billion value by 2030.
24%. That’s how much the number of fashion houses that cast two or more plus-sized models for runway shows declined between last fall and this spring's Paris Fashion Week, the New York Times reported. British fashion week runways typically have the most size diversity, followed by fashion weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, in order.
LVMH and Kering, the luxury groups that own brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Dior, in 2017 signed a charter that banned the casting of models under age 16 and those thinner than a U.S. size 0.
Model on the runway at the Christian Siriano Spring 2024 Ready To Wear Fashion Show at the Pierre ... [+]
Model on the runway at the COACH Spring 2024 Ready To Wear Fashion Show and dinner event at the New ... [+]
A model walks the runway during the Collina Strada Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show as ... [+]
Paloma Elsesser walks the runway during the Michael Kors Collection Spring/Summer 2024 Runway Show ... [+]
Amanda Nicolle walks the runway wearing Adore Me during New York Fashion Week.
A model walks the runway at the Kim Shui fashion show during New York Fashion Week.
A model walks the runway wearing designer Shreya Patel at SAFW x Always Raas presented by Virell And ... [+]
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