A major shift in the fashion industry has occurred with the separation of “plus sizes” and “normal sizes” decreasing in acceptance.
Shoppers in today’s market want an inclusive environment, despite whatever their size may be. Many innovators in the industry are speaking out and making concrete changes. For example, one online retail store, ModCloth, recently eliminated their “plus” section, and integrated their larger sizes in with the rest of the merchandise assortment.
ModCloth conducted a survey of 1,500 women who wear over a size 16, and learned that the majority of those women feel embarrassed to shop in a completely separate store or section. They all would prefer to have the clothing in their size offered within the same stores and sections creating a comfortable environment for them to shop. In fact, the fastest growing category for ModCloth has been clothing over the size of 16 since they first launched this section in 2013. Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of ModCloth, Susan Gregg Koger, knows that there is still plenty of room for improvement and change, and looks forward to seeing that change take place.
In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, Balmain Designer Oliver Rousteing, said, “I believe in strong women, women with all shapes. We have to get away from the real skinny girls.” Without action, this quote alone is capable of affecting the industry because of the influence that Rousteing has as a fashion designer.
In addition to designers, models can have a huge impact on the way the fashion industry perceives plus size women. Plus-size model, Ashley Graham, published a YouTube video highlighting, “How to Wear Everything You’ve Been Told Not to.” The video showcases different ensembles for three different occasions, featuring apparel like crop tops, high-waisted fitted jeans, horizontal stripes, bold prints matched with solid colors, and white on white. She explains that if we wear clothes which are our actual size, then style begins and ends only where our imaginations do.
Centenary College's community, although may seem worlds apart from the fashion industry, is more connected than what the untrained eye may see. With the excellent fashion merchandising and design program offered here, there are many students and professors who are highly in tune with what is going on daily.
Assistant Professor of Fashion Design at Centenary, Dr. Mia Whang, feels that, “It is the next step in our evolution toward nondiscriminatory shopping environment. We still have a long way to go, but the fact that we are looking into this issue of size classifications is encouraging.”
As these huge changes occur in the fashion industry, ultimately the goal is for women and men across the globe to agree with ModCloth in the fact that, “shopping categories should be defined by types of clothing, not types of bodies.”
