I know models have always been skinny, but it seems to me they are getting even skinnier. They clearly are not the target market for Ozempic, so am I misguided, or is this true, and if so, what is going on? — Andrea, Kansas City, Mo.
You are not misguided. Sitting at the recent couture shows, and then sifting through photos looking for runway images to go with show reviews, I had the same thought.
The numbers bear this out: During the last ready-to-wear season, according to the Vogue Business size inclusivity report, out of 9,038 looks in 198 women’s wear shows, 97.1 percent were shown on models who were U.S. sizes 0 to 4. Less than 1 percent of models qualified as plus size, or curve.
There was a moment when fashion seemed to be inching toward body positivity, in part because of public opinion. In 2020, Paloma Elsesser, an outspoken plus-size model, was on the cover of Vogue, and the next year she became a member of the VS Collective specifically to help Victoria’s Secret rethink its sizing and image. The concept of midsize models took off, and there was less tokenism of plus-size girls. But clearly that moment is over, for a variety of reasons.
The backlash to “wokeness” has swept up size inclusivity in its wake. Fashion, which is going backward in all sort of ways, including sustainability and gender equality, is likewise reverting to form on the runway. It is, after all, easier to default to the status quo than to pioneer change.
This is especially true for runway collections, since they are generally made up of sample garments, designed in a standard size. (It’s more efficient and cost-effective.) Varying the sizes on the catwalk requires changing the patterns, and that requires rethinking the system, which is complicated.
Besides, conventional industry wisdom holds that clothes look better on women shaped like hangers. Not the padded silk kind; the narrow wire kind.
Then there’s the fact that the GLP-1 revolution has altered the visual landscape. As formerly larger size people in the public eye shrink, so, too, do our perceptions. What qualifies as “skinny” becomes even skinnier — and more seemingly desirable.
Add all of that together, and the gravitational pull is toward an ever-shrinking human form, especially on the runway. It’s too bad. Not because skinniness is bad, but because it should not be the only option. People still come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Seeing the reality of life reflected on the runways, which have become a form of entertainment for everyone, is actually more appealing than seeing life reduced to one size that cannot fit all.
The reality of this hit home when, after decades of racism, fashion finally stopped tokenizing Black models and embraced a multitude of skin colors in runway collections rather than opting for a model cast that was 90 percent white. (Well, except for Dolce & Gabbana, which inexplicably used an all-white cast in its last men’s show.) The result was shows that look exponentially richer and more relevant than they once did because they are connected more clearly to the world in which the clothes they show are worn.
The takeaway should be the more diversity, the better. Not just in race but also in size and age and physical ability. It’s in everyone’s interests. Imagine seeing a runway that included not just sizes 0 and 16, but all those in between, including 6, 8 and 10.
And not just for women and women’s wear. During the recent men’s shows, the guys on the Prada catwalk were so slim-line that Hanan Besovic, the fashion commentator who posts under the hashtag @ideservecouture, announced on his Instagram reel: “I love Prada. But my only thought during this whole collection is how skinny these models are.”
“It was so difficult focusing on the clothes,” he went on.
There’s a lesson in there if fashion would care to learn it.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or X. Questions are edited and condensed.
Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.
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