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In my younger years, if you had asked me where to find on-trend plus-size clothing, the first thing that would've come to mind was Forever 21+. Partly because I was young and broke, but also because I was a fashion student, I had little interest in the offerings of well-known brands that provided plus-size options consisting solely of matronly clothing. Anyone who's part of the fat community knows exactly what I mean.
After that period, I noticed a shift toward more size-inclusive fashion choices. Eloquii, initially launched as a part of The Limited, regained independence and became available online in 2014. In 2013, H&M launched their e-commerce site that featured extended sizes not available in stores. Target followed suit with its plus-size line, Ava & Viv, in 2015. The year 2019, marked the store's 20th-anniversary collaboration with designers, including Phillip Lim and Anna Sui, and marked a significant step in offering high-end designs in a broader range of sizes. That same year, Anthropologie entered the plus-size market. Interestingly enough, I had worked there before this and often had to disappoint customers by letting them know that our store didn't carry any clothing beyond size 14.
US sales of women’s plus-size apparel reached $21.4 billion in 2016, according to one market research group, and in the UK, the number of plus-size brands rose by 50.7% between 2015 and 2020, according to market data research from Gitnux. Plus-size clothing in retail stores has experienced significant growth over the past eight years. However, as highlighted by creator Eve in a TikTok video, all of this progress appears to be plateauing.
So what's changed? In 2021, Vogue reported a resurgence of Y2K fashion trends. Kim Kardashian garnered significant attention for her remarkable weight loss efforts in her quest to fit into a dress originally tailored for Marilyn Monroe in 1962. Later that same year, Miu Miu put micro miniskirts on the runway as part of their spring/summer 2023 collection. And 2023, saw a rise in the popularity of Ozempic, a medication to manage type 2 diabetes, touted as a “magic” weight-loss drug, with a nature-made cousin, Berberine, following closely behind. All of this coincided with the usual New Year's resolutions to achieve a ”summer body" and shopping for a new wardrobe. With these shifts in fashion trends and weight management perceptions, attitudes toward plus-size inclusion may diminish as societal desires and priorities regress.
Extreme diet culture is nothing new and does not change the fact that most women are plus-size. According to research cited by Racked, an estimated 68% of American women wear a size 14 or above. (The average size is between a US size 16 and 18.) And yet, only .06% of the looks during spring/summer Fashion Week in the US and Europe were size 14 and above.
Mallorie Dunn, founder of the clothing brand SmartGlamour, believes that the driving force behind this is fatphobia. "At the end of the day, the majority of people are underserved while the minority are overserved," she says, further addressing another major problem in the fashion industry — sustainability. "We're mass-producing and overproducing a bunch of stuff for people who don't exist while under-producing for people who do exist and need options, all in the name of fatphobia."
With that in mind, Dunn decided to do something about it and traversed the prestigious triad of New York's leading fashion schools — FIT, Pratt, and Parsons — with the unique perspective of both a student and an educator. She says that these schools need more plus-size dress forms to match even 1% of their student population and that one school has them hidden in the basement.
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Dunn launched SmartGlamour in 2014, providing customizable, size-inclusive clothing for nearly a decade: “I founded it with the intention to help fix my issues with the fashion industry and as a means to combat the mainstream standard that is exclusionary, both in access [and] also in attitudes.” She has furthered her commitment to this goal by offering two continuing courses at FIT this semester: one focuses on small business production and another on inclusive patternmaking.
An often unspoken reality that many people with larger bodies don't like to admit is the impact Shein has on finding plus-size clothes that are stylish and similar to those of our smaller-size peers. It's no secret that fast fashion has a part in destroying our planet and, in general, destroying our attitudes about mass consumption. Shein recognizes how profitable the market is (the global plus-size clothing market was valued at $178.56 billion, according to Gitnux) and has no exclusivity to protect, unlike high-end designers with long-standing practices of not offering anything above a US size 12. It’s easy to preach about what people should and shouldn't do, and many love to point their fingers at fat people who show off their Shein clothes on TikTok. However, options are limited because only a tiny percentage of the industry produces plus-size clothing, one of many ways society continues to moralize thinness.
This is why Dunn's dual approach, teaching a small business course alongside an inclusive patternmaking class, is so important. As a fashion design graduate, I understand the need for more resources for those seeking to craft plus-size apparel. The more people learn how to make inclusive and accessible clothing, the greater the capacity for a ripple effect. "My inclusive class will utilize plus-size dress forms and cover customers' real-life statistics and sizes. You'll learn to properly grade a garment between sizes, both for straight and plus sizes, so the integrity of the design is not lost. Students will also be able to fit their trial pattern and final garment on a plus-size fit model in line with the average plus-size consumer," Dunn says.
As increasing numbers of aspiring small business owners gain a comprehensive understanding of the techniques, research, and market demand, the range of choices available to plus-size individuals will expand. This growth could liberate the plus-size community from the constraints imposed by fast fashion. The rest of the industry may be slow, but Mallorie is moving quickly! While registration for the business course has closed, the inclusive patternmaking course is open for registration until Sunday, September 10th.
Fashion and fatphobia have a long-standing connection that is hard to sever. While the widespread body-positivity movement may be no longer in vogue, there's no need for inclusive clothing options to fall out of favor. Designers like Dunn are harnessing this connection for positive change, aiming to bridge that void. "I am not trying to make you feel like you need to be cool or wear this thing to be a better person. Who you are right now is great, and I want to get you the clothes you need."
Big businesses are inconsistent and many prominent designers seem to be indifferent, but it is undeniable that the plus-size clothing industry is a sizeable market. Fashion is extremely nuanced. "The cries for diversity on the runway only go so far if we are not looking to the roots of rising designers' exploration," says Teen Vogue editor Aiyana Ishmael. "There is still so much hope in the possibilities that can come from the rising designers in fashion school." We must persist in urging the fashion industry to adapt to our current realities rather than succumbing to the pressure of conforming to design standards of the past.
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