No matter which fashion magazine you check, it’s all about celebrating the comeback of female curves. “Breasts are back. If you’ve got’em, get them out”, writes British Elle. In particular Prada and Louis Vuitton have displayed a/w collections that emphasise the female body with the result that models who are usually considered as too big for high fashion such as Doutzen Kroes or Lara Stone have been included in the runway shows and campaigns. There are even rumours that Marc Jacobs wants to design a plus size collection.
Crystal Renn, once a super skinny model on the brink of collapse, became successful after she had decided to say goodbye to size zero. She even wrote a book entitled “Hungry” about her life as an anorectic model. Her aim was to shine a light on how people in the industry and in general perceive beauty.
On the surface it seems that this development is fantastic as the trend promotes a more natural and healthy size. However, if you take a closer at it I think that not so much has actually changed.
First of all, the focus on femininity expressed through big breasts and curvy hips feels like a step back to the 1950s. I think this is black and white thinking as it implies that either women are thin and boyish or more curvy and female. Not every woman who is not super skinny is necessary super female. It is sad that we can’t think out of the male/female categories.
I also question if it is enough to include some models in the campaigns who do not look like starving teenagers to change the size zero beauty idol. “Bigger” models (who actually have a normal body) are still considered as plus size, which involves that thin women represent the normal shape in the fashion industry since they do not need any additional description such as plus size.
Language is an important factor when it comes to our perception of beauty. Therefore I think it is much more important to stop calling women with normal and healthy bodies plus size than to just include bigger women in campaigns.
Now you might think why the hell am I so concerned about some stupid models who maybe earn lots of money? I am actually not concerned about the models but about girls and women who start questioning their body because of an unrealistic beauty idol. Even if we try to deny it, people in the media influence our understanding of what is beautiful and ugly.
I also think that I am above such things but when I see all the skinny girls in the magazines I start wondering if I am too big although I have always been a slim type. And if I feel like that, for sure, teenage girls will reflect even more about these issues.
Next week is Stockholm fashion week and I am curious how Swedish designers react to this new trend when presenting their s/s 2011 collections.
PS: I am Sorry that I didn’t post so much lately but I was very busy with searching for an apartment. Have you ever searched for an apartment in Sweden? It’s horrible! The Swedish housing market is such a mess! However, I finally found one so I promise that I will be more active again.
