Body Diversity: Will The Fashion Industry Embrace It?

Body image has always been a rather taboo subject within the fashion industry. However, due to recent events, the issue has finally been addressed. Designers are taking the steps necessary to try to diminish the gap between the abnormal size 0 and plus-size and that is a monumental breakthrough not just in fashion but art, culture and our modern society.

It was only this February during the fall/winter 2016 presentations that we actually started to see glimpses of change. A handful of different designers took the word diversity and explored it from another angle. Racial diversity still remains a prominent issue in ethical fashion; however, we now have had the spotlight reverted back onto body diversity - an issue that would seem so loud but, in actuality, is so quiet.

With designers such as Olivier Rousteing at Balmain introducing collections solely created for the more curvaceous woman, one would only begin to assume that the industry is going through a body shape revolution. Balmain is only one out of a select group of brands embracing the fuller forms; take H&M Studio (the high-fashion diffusion line of H&M) or rather Miu Miu, who, this season cast an all-star array of models with much more realistic and resplendent body shapes, a definite contrast to the lack of diversity seen by the house throughout the years.

Gigi Hadid & Lara Stone backstage at Miu Miu

Another poignant moment from this season's fashion week was the H&M Studio fashion show. H&M chose plus-size model Ashley Graham to walk for their show just days after her seemingly controversial Sports Illustrated cover was released. Unfortunately she was body-shamed for said cover due to the fact that people were close-minded to the idea of having a model of a bigger size grace the front of a swimsuit magazine. In fact she was the first plus-size model in 52 years to be the cover star of SI and now that is a historical statement.
Interestingly, nowadays plus-sized models are considered to range from a size 8-16 which is just ridiculous because that means - based on these measurements - we are all 'plus-sized'. There is no doubt that a size 8 or 10 is the norm, however according to the industry's unrealistic standards we are unfairly made to think that it's 'big' and it's not at all.

Ashley Graham at H&M

It is not just the designers who are taking a stand for body diversity, but also the models themselves. Take Gigi Hadid, who made her thoughts about body diversity clear after being targeted by body-shaming trolls. She said in an Instagram post, "No, I don't have the same body type as the other models in shows... I represent a body image that wasn't accepted in high-fashion before, and I'm very lucky to be supported by the designers, stylists, and editors that I have: ones that know this is fashion, it's art; it can never stay the same." With this in mind, more and more models of different shapes and colours are being welcomed into the business and it's owing to these powerful creative voices like Gigi's being heard. Over time I feel like fashion will converge and become more accepting to these new ideals.

Fashion will never be a healthy creative outlet as long as we stop simultaneously shaming people for their appearance.

Gigi Hadid at Versace

Please note: I do not own any of these images, courtesy of Vogue.co.uk & Getty images

Racial Diversity On The Runway

What do we mean by 'diversity'? Owing to the fact that one of the most crucial movements in fashion is diversity, one would think it was a good sign that the current trend for Spring/Summer 2016 is 'diversity'. However this is not just diversity through model castings; this is diversity shown through shapes and silhouettes. With Olivier Rousteing at Balmain celebrating curves and the Paris Fashion Week Board officially banning super-skinny models, it seems like there has been rather a re-definition of the word. Perhaps this is a cunning diversion away from the serious issue of ethnic diversity that the industry fails to take responsibility for at present.

According to The Business of Fashion's Spring/Summer 2016 diversity report, an astonishing 79% of runway models used this season were white. Why not more models of colour?
Designers such as Victoria Beckham and Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein have been criticised season after season for casting an array of very angry super-skinny looking models, and even more surprisingly they are all white. Probably the most disparagement went to the house of Valentino. Despite producing a collection solely inspired by Africa, Valentino made use of entirely white models in cornrows and tribalized prints, showing an intense lack of respect towards the African communities and instead generalising their country to fit in with Valentino's now seemingly profane aesthetic.

Saying this, there are a minority of designers who are encouraging the influx of more diverse model selections. For example: Tom Ford, Riccardo Tisci and Christopher Bailey for Burberry. Supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Jourdan Dunn have all been campaigning on the issue and thanks to them, in recent years, we have seen a fairly modest surge in racial diversity across the industry.

Jourdan Dunn and Naomi Campbell for Burberry

I believe that it is vital that the industry does not dismiss the austere nature of this problem. As much as we continue to encourage the use of other minorities throughout the industry, it still does not seem to conquer the face of discrimination from employers. In my opinion, I think that if we continue to voice our opinions perhaps the fashion industry will stop turning a blind-eye to the real problems and face the situation head-on.  

Picture Courtesy: www.Dazeddigital.com  & www.style.com