While the fashion industry has somewhat embraced plus-size women in recent years, with campaigns like Aerie’s #AerieREAL anti-retouching campaign, we still find evidence that plus-size women are not respected by most in the industry. Most designers won’t dress celebrities if they’re over a size 6 in dress size, and that’s even being generous. Most celebrities are given runway samples to wear by designers like Chanel and Versace, meaning they have to fit into a size zero or else they won’t be dressed by that brand.
Bebe Rexha at the 2019 Grammy Awards (Source)
Recently, Bebe Rexha called out high-end fashion brands for not wanting to dress her size eight figure for the Grammys, simply because she was ‘too big’. Not dressing a Grammy-nominated artist seems like a missed opportunity for designers whose goal is to dress celebrities. And if a size eight is considered too big, then what message are we sending to anyone who’s bigger than a size eight? It just seems like a prideful and egotistical idea that a woman’s body isn’t small enough to be dressed by high-end designers.
The fashion industry has long been determined as an industry for the thin, and for a while there, we saw a glimmer of hope for plus-size people. But, unfortunately, they have proven to us, once again, that plus-size women are not good enough for haute couture.
It’s very frustrating and discouraging to see so much value placed on what a woman looks like. And furthering this type of narrative only makes the problem worse. Size discrimination is something that most plus-size women, including myself, have experienced. I mean, God forbid we feel beautiful and comfortable in our own bodies. But, I’m here to tell you that your body is not an apology to anyone. You deserve to love yourself, regardless of your size, gender, race, or sexuality. Be unforgiving in your love for yourself.
HCXO