Flashing cameras, lavish parties and extravagant looks — all images that come to mind when thinking about fashion week. However, while many associate the fashion industry with glitz and glamour, making fashion seasons alluring affairs, the inclusion of diverse body sizes is still a controversial topic.
As the New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion shows unveiled the Spring and Summer 2024 collections, models of different body types and designers welcoming inclusivity graced the runways. However, is this enough for fashion lovers and critics alike to consider fashion week events truly “diverse” when showcasing all body shapes?
New York Fashion Week
The Big Apple kick-started showings of spring and summer collections from Sept. 7 to Sept. 13 and featured many different body sizes on the runway. Most notably, Selkie’s dreamlike collection went viral on social media for the size diversity represented at the show and their sizes ranging from XXS-5X.
The New York Times reported that “the average dress size worn by American women is a 16,” but bigger fashion houses, such as Ralph Lauren and Helmut Lang, only continue to exclude plus-sized models in their shows.
However, collections from Christian Siriano and Coach both included plus-sized models on their runways in revealing and sheer looks. Michael Kors, Staud and RAAS also cast diverse body sizes in their shows.
London fashion week
This creative city hosted fashion shows from Sept. 15 to Sept. 19. Two collections that celebrated diverse models were Di Petsa and Sinéad O’Dwyer, which included straight-size, mid-size, and plus-size models.
The latter show was a mix of runway and a question-and-answer (Q&A) panel with the designer. O’Dwyer explained that her collection prioritizes functionality so the body can move freely.
The Mark Fast show also featured a few models of various body sizes, as it does every season.
milan fashion week
In Milan, from Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, only a small pool of body inclusivity was present. However, the Karoline Vitto show, sponsored by Dolce & Gabbana, brought out a ton of diversity.
Vitto told Vogue Business that she and her team flew plus-sized models out from London to have as much diversity as possible in her show. She said she hopes “This helps [overcome the lack of plus-size models in Milan] because if they’re already going to be there they can cast for other shows.”
The same article reports that while London was the most size-inclusive, with 7% of looks either mid-size or plus-size, Milan had the least size-inclusive representation, with only 0.2% of looks plus-size. Showcasing Vitto’s collection in Italy was a win for diverse body representation.
As for the major Italian fashion houses, Versace only had one plus-sized model in their show, but it was still an improvement over Gucci’s show, which had zero body size diversity.
paris fashion week
As the fashion season closed in Paris, from Sept. 25 to Oct. 3, size inclusivity slightly improved compared to past fashion weeks.
Most fashion houses showcased their designs on models of slimmer builds, including Christian Dior, Saint Laurent and Schiaparelli. However, Nina Ricci, Balenciaga, Mugler, Chloé and Weinsanto were a few shows that made an exception.
Chloé featured plus-size model Paloma Elsesser (who walked shows in all four cities), but that was it — there was no further body size diversity at the show. As for Weinsanto, models of all shapes and sizes walked the runway in a collection of form-fitting corsets.
The Spring and Summer 2024 fashion weeks saw notable strides in supporting body size diversity — but a drastic improvement is still needed. Most designers who included plus-sized models already had a positive background in body size diversity.
According to the Vogue Business Spring/Summer 2024 size inclusivity report, 95.2% of looks across the four fashion weeks were straight-size, U.S. sizes from zero to four. The report also points out that between the Fall and Winter 2023 season and the Spring and Summer 2024 season, size inclusivity on the runway only improved by 0.4%.
While applauding the efforts for inclusivity, the fashion industry needs to continue its journey towards creating a more accepting industry.