So Andre J, Michael, Jessica and I are talking about the plus-size model issue. What sparked the conversation: The Karl Lagerfeld-photographed editorial in V magazine’s size issue, featuring the buxom burlesque performer, Dirty Martini. First of all, Whoa! Wasn’t Karl Lagerfeld just saying that “no one wants to see curvy women”? Second of all, is the big girl officially “in” now? And what defines a big girl anyway? I present to you, our office debate (with a lot of tangents and back-tracking, ha!)
Andre J: I love it. These women are beautiful and they aren’t starving themselves. Women want to eat. We need to celebrate these real bodies.
Kenya: I agree. It’s funny, though, because I’ve heard complaints about the fact that plus-size models are usually photographed nude. But the truth of the matter is, few designers produce samples that fit their size. So what else can these magazines shoot them in?
Jessica: Sophie Dahl complained about that very thing an interview.
Kenya: Wait, I’m Googling that now. Here it is. She told the Daily Mail, “[being photographed nude] became common practice when I was first modelling at 19 or so; hazardous by-product of my curves, as none of the clothes samples ever fitted me.” So designers are, in fact, only catering to a very specific group of shoppers when you take into account that the average size of a woman is a lot larger than the size range they’re offering.
Michael: I know this is a very un-PC thing to say. But I’m kind of with Kate Moss and Karl Lagerfeld on this. Every body shape has its place in the world. I just don’t think that there should be a backlash against these smaller women. Models are just naturally thin.
Kenya: Um, what backlash against skinny women? I don’t think that exists.
Andre: And most of these models are not just naturally thin. I lived with a photographer in Paris who would joke about the fact that the models would only eat candy, smoke and drink diet soda on the shoots. These girls are starving themselves. They are really hungry (or drug-induced.)
Michael: Okay, wait. This is what I think. The fashion industry should allow anyone who is beautiful to be a model. The agents and bookings editors should say, “I want a beautiful model.” I don’t think you should say, “I want a big model or a small model.” It should be, “I just want a beautiful model.”
Kenya: That’s what people said about the black models’ debate too.
Jessica: But what does a big model mean? I’m objecting to the idea of the fashion world dictating what a normal size woman is. Because then you end up excluding things like being healthy. We come in all shapes and sizes. Then again, maybe we shouldn’t expect for fashion to reflect what is normal. Maybe it’s our expectations that need to change.
Michael: I don’t think fashion is about “normal.” It is usually about the unique, the unusual, the hyper-abnormal.
Andre J: But who wants to see these slumped over, emaciated girls? We can’t have 13-year-olds starving themselves, now.
Michael: I agree.
Andre: If a bigger girl becomes “the look” then the samples need to be larger.
Michael: The ’80s supermodels looked healthy and they were bigger.
Kenya: But they were still smaller than average.
Andre: But the clothes back then were about celebrating the curve. That’s how the supers were able to look great in Versace. Those clothes were for women with boobs. And Bob Mackie gowns, back in the ’70s, needed hips and cleavage. Now, it seems like the clothes are anti-curve. Tomorrow, who knows? It all keeps changing faster and faster to keep everyone frantic.
Kenya: No, it’s changing to keep everyone SHOPPING, season after season. It has been that way ever since Dior’s New Look. And he ironically had to create a new New Look every season. It’s the same system now, only on speed. It’s all about the bottom line.
Andre: So then, the new market is the big girl. Because she has money to spend, honey. I’m just curious to know if more big girls will be on the runway next month during the shows.
Jessica: But what is a big girl??
Andre: A size 6.*
Michael: Yup.
[Silence.]
Kenya: Sigh. That is crazy talk.
Jessica: Nonsense.
Andre: But in the fashion world, it’s true. I’m going to McDonald’s dammit.
[*Hi guys, as I'm beginning to get emails from you, I thought it worth pointing out that the guys were talking American sizes, not English. It's also worth pointing out that an American size six is larger than an English size six. An American size six equates to a UK size 8, French size 36 and Italian size 40.]
