The Body Issue: Commerciality and Intent
Fashion says it believes in inclusivity and representation, but does it really?
Fashion says it believes in inclusivity and representation, but according to the data, both of those things are at an all-time low. Plus-size-focused brands like Chromat have closed their doors, designers like Karoline Vitto have had to stop making larger sizes because they can’t afford it, and, according to Vogue Business‘s latest Size Inclusivity report, 97.6% of SS26 runway looks were straight-size.
When speaking to experts like Vitto, casting director Chloe Rosolek and critic Kim Russell, the overarching theme is clear: inclusivity was a big buzzword back in 2018, and between 2022 and 2023, something changed.
“I felt a shift. On a casting level as a whole, many models in the industry had lost a lot of weight,” Vitto recalled. Rosolek added that “I think the rise of GLP-1 medications exposed just how performative that progress really was,” suggesting that fashion was all about inclusivity, until it realized it didn’t have to be.
It’s tempting to file all of these changes under the current thin-body aesthetic cycle and leave it there. But the commercial reality underneath it runs deeper. The luxury industry is in decline; globally, we’re in a recession, and as a result, the bottom line is that we’re all looking for ways to make money and, more importantly, keep money.
As a designer who needs to keep costs in check, Vitto explains it best. “This is a business, and some people live off this business. We have to respond to what customers are buying and where they’re at.” The designer explains that the brand used to have a wider size range, but due to the changing size of customers and the rising popularity of GLP-1s, “[she] stopped producing them because [she] simply couldn’t afford the cost anymore.”
Cost-driven decision-making doesn’t just extend to purchasing; it also manifests during one of the biggest calendar moments of the year: fashion week. According to Vitto, “The most cost-effective, manageable way to do a show is to have everything cut in the same size. That’s the real reason fashion shows aren’t inclusive. It’s not necessarily that brands don’t want diversity… It’s a cost issue.”
So, if fashion isn’t showcasing bigger sizes and they’re not then being made, how do we see them at all?
Visibility is a crucial part of commercial and editorial representation, and for stylist Jeannie Annan-Lewin, that’s where the problem begins. “The vision can be ambitious, but if the clothes don’t exist in the right sizes, the creative is immediately constrained,” she notes.
Even when the clothes exist, there’s another level of complexity when we begin to consider styling and intent. The bodies and the clothes are then subject to the lens of the photographer, creative director and stylist, each of whom might have a different idea of how something or someone should be presented. “Fuller bodies are often styled and shot in ways that minimize them in oversized tailoring, closed-off poses, crossed arms or silhouettes that flatten rather than celebrate shape,” Annan-Lewin adds.
Then, there are the times when inclusivity is considered… How do we know it’s genuine? Based on the findings from our audience survey, 78% believe fashion’s push for body inclusivity is mostly or almost entirely a marketing strategy. Alongside this, our research suggests that men are 8x more likely than women to believe it’s genuine, a finding worth taking seriously, given that the majority of luxury creative directors are men.
However, there are antidotes to these challenges and moments of change to celebrate. We can look at the rise in popularity of inclusive fashion weeks like Copenhagen, independent fashion critics gaining traction over bigger publications and growing conversations surrounding the impact of female designers as proof points.
Beyond Vitto, new industry names are paving the way and pushing for long-lasting representation. Rosolek cites the likes of Ellie Misner and Sinéad O’Dwyer as some of the few “consistently demonstrating what authentic inclusivity can look like.”
Outside of brands and designers, some of the most impactful work is happening off the runway entirely. Plus-size creators and communities have built their own information economy around fit and construction, doing the honest fit-testing and reviewing that fashion fans deserve. Vitto cites these online content creators as a powerful tool for meaningful change, explaining that “There are a lot of everyday creators on TikTok fuelling the resurgence of what we had back in 2016–17.”
In terms of the future, Annan-Lewin said it best. “The real goal is a point where [body representation] is so embedded it no longer needs to be highlighted.” Overall, meaningful change won’t just come from one part of the industry; it requires a collective effort across all disciplines, from all of us.
