Fashion’s association with skinny has been a long and happy marriage and designers for decades have romanced the notion that thin is in, and that models who look more like coat hangers are the only ones who should grace runways.

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However, every so often, it strikes up an illicit love affair with models that have fleshier arms, can fill a bra, and whose bones aren’t protruding from their collar bones. That’s right – ‘plus-size’ models. This is one such time.

Its mistress this time around goes by the name Crystal Renn, which is a name the fashion press, designers and your everyday Joe is becoming more and more familiar with. She is fast becoming a regular feature on the cover of glossy’s as they attempt to prove that the fashion industry is moving on and it’s becoming more acceptable to showcase ‘plus-size’ models as they are equally if not more beautiful that the barrage of 00’s we are so used to seeing.

She’s graced the covers of Vogue, Harpers and Elle, rocked the runways of Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce and Gabbana, and is the commercial face for Mango and Evans. So by all accounts she is a success. It wasn’t always such plain sailing for Renn however, as 6 years ago she would have been virtually unrecognisable. Discovered at the age of 14 at a Mississippi charm school, her talent scout promised her the world of Gisele... under the condition she would slim down by 5 stone. As most of us know, losing a few pounds is achievable with will power and determination, however, once Renn got to the 2.5 stone mark, she quickly realised more drastic measures would need to be taken – which is when obsession took hold. With the catwalk firmly cemented at the front of her mind, Renn’s daily diet became a combination of steamed vegetables, lettuce, and the occasional diet coke alongside a vigorous work out regime sometimes lasting up to 9 hours a day.

With a swimsuit shoot looming, and the regime in full swing, she admitted her body was falling apart. On meeting her bookers they informed her she still needed to further slim down her legs which was the final straw. Realising she was quickly killing herself, she walked away from the $40,000 job, left her agency and spent some time looking after herself.

Her dark past is chronicled in her memoir ‘Hungry – A young model’s story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves’. When Renn’s new agency Ford, suggested she looked for work as a ‘plus size’ model she immediately visualised images of catalogues, and dodgy commercials, but her sheer determination won her campaigns and spreads with the fashion greats of the industry.

Crystal Renn has become the face of the new decade’s shift towards change in the fashion industry. She’s gone from changing her own destiny to attempting to change the destiny for women all over the world.

The paradox is that Renn is now more famous as a ‘plus size’ model than she ever would have been as a standard catwalk model. Her curves are what gives her a USP and makes her different. The irony can’t be passed up here, as when the average British size woman is a size 16, she is as standard as the ‘norm’, but in fashion this is absolutely unique.

I have an issue with the term ‘plus size’. By using this term to describe models like Renn, the fashion industry are adding further stigma to anyone who can’t slide into a pair of 23” waist jeans. Indeed, compared to her work colleges, Renn is the metaphorical elephant in the room, but by no means is she plus size in the greater scheme of things. And by deeming her ‘plus size’ the negative effects on anyone the same size as her, who are in fact a healthier weight, may be causing more body hang-ups and disorders which is precisely the misconception she is attempting to break. I appreciate that this transformation of acceptability won’t happen overnight, nor will it likely stand the test of time, but at least honor Renn the dignity of not sticking a rather unsightly ‘plus size’ sticker on her.

So why is the fashion industry embracing curves? It could be symbolic of coming out of a recession and into more bountiful times? On the reverse, the fashion industry is based on the notion of dreams and the unattainable, so does using plus size models counter balance the inspirational portrait held in esteem?

Fashion has managed to create a gap between itself and real woman which has always been aspirational to most women, but it seems the backlash has begun and a change is in the midst....but how long with this love affair last before we return back to the safety of jutting hipbones and cigarettes and diet coke as a staple diet? Is this finally a true evolution to a new chapter, or simply a gimmick to shift magazines off the shelves?

It’s not by any means the first time this notion has been romanced. Mark Fast caused a stir in September when using plus size models nearly cost him his show when his stylist and creative designer walked out at the 11^th hour as a result of ‘creative differences’ over the casting. He sent 3 size 12 and 14 models down the catwalk which was hailed a success by the fashion press for showcasing how real women can still look great in his designs.

Mark Fast’s ‘Plus Size’ models during his September show

 

Sophie Dahl, now the face of a BBC cooking programme and a lean UK size 10 made her fame as a plus size model in 2000 when she was plastered naked throughout magazines and billboards as the face of Yves Saint Laurent perfume Opium.

Discovered by chance at the age of 18 by Isabella Blow, who was at the time a contributing editor at Vogue, asked Dahl whether she had ever wanted to be a model. Astounded at the prospect, she said yes but pointed out her very real and very womanly curves to which Blow entirely ignored and catapulted Dahl into the limelight. At the time, the industry was awash with Kate-Moss-a-likes whose waify grunginess was the taste du jour. Dahl’s fleshy curves were welcome relief and her popularity came as a product of her shape. 

Over the years, the body for which she became famous has lost its baby fat through an evolution of what she was eating and is now attuned to the wants and needs of the body rather than concentrating on the things wrong with them. Despite this, her weight loss over the years sparked scrutiny amongst fans and supporters as they believe she fell into the trappings of model-dom and had to conform to celebrity – however she has always stated it was just growing up which caused it. Dahl was the only representative of ‘real women’ in fashion 10 years ago, so this time round, the plethora of plus size models in the spotlight is certainly encouraging.

 

Sophie Dahl in her curvier days, and more recently

 

In commercial terms, cosmetics brand Dove achieved unrivalled success with their ‘Campaign for Real Women’, launched in 2004 and still going strong today.  The clever marketing activity celebrated women’s physical appearance, in all shapes and sizes in an attempt to inspire all women to be confident in their appearances no matter what they look like. This was embodied in a series of campaigns using ‘real women’ throughout print and billboard media and minus the common art of airbrushing. In 2006, Dove started the Self-Esteem fund and promised to help rid the world of negative perceptions of beauty, the proceeds of which go towards resources and workshops to help shift this perception.

It’s come under some extreme criticism with cynics blasting them for reasons such as parent company Unilever also manufacturing Fair and Lovely, a skin lightening product; tittered at amongst lads magazines and tabloids for not wanting to see ‘real women’; the irony that a large part of the line is anti aging products designed to make you look better, younger and thinner; and that actually all the advertising material was touched up. It seems that bringing an issue such as this into the limelight is going to constantly run into opposition, however on the whole the campaign is still acknowledged as a success.

 

 

Doves Campaign for Real Beauty

There are also the very real and frightening medical implications of the matter to consider. As it stands at the moment, there are no industry guidelines relating to what size is acceptable. The Model Health Inquiry was launched in 2007 after the death of several ‘00’ models. It was put in place by the British Fashion Council to ‘review current practice and issue clear guidance on the important issue of model health and age so that, as an industry, we can ensure that we are behaving responsibly and in the interest of those models who work in this country,’ (Hilary Riva, CEO, British Fashion Council). Despite this, medical guidelines are still under discussion and haven’t yet been enforced meaning the use of dangerously underweight girls is still the norm.

The plight for encouraging acceptance of real models is constantly up against opposition. Kate Moss sent mild ripples of shock through the press in November last year when she was asked in an interview what her life motto’s where and she spouted ‘Nothing taste’s as good as skinny feels’ which gave everyone it seems the opportunity to have the 10 pence worth on the matter. The problem is, even though this is a shockingly terrible message to be touting to her young fans, for the most part, people know this is the case, and the way models look isn’t simply down to good genetics and exercise. It’s down to hardcore dieting, detoxes and whatever it takes to keep off the ounces.

It makes a refreshing change to witness the slow transformation, but worrying, I believe this will only be a short term fix. Already there has been backlash saying using these models is exploitative, that it’s merely a publicity stunt to sell magazines, or worse that it’s actually glorifying obesity. There has also been a study to prove that plus size models don’t encourage consumers to buy as it actually increases low self esteem; which leads you to believe that as a rule, female consumers like to idolise a vision of perfect when viewing advertising. Brands have always relied on the aspirational, and in reality, unachievable luxury with a constant emphasis on appearance and self-improvement is a sure fire way of selling product. I think once brands remember this, plus size models will again be restricted to the pages of catalogues and commercials. Despite this, we’re in the midst of a fashion moment...one in which Lizzie Miller posed naked in US Glamour, Alexandra Shulman sent a letter urging designers to make larger samples to encourage the use of larger models, Beth Ditto was shot naked for the cover of Love, and the cover of June’s US Glamour will feature a beach shoot with Victoria’s Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio, Sports Illustrated cover girl Brooklyn Decker and girl of the moment Crystal Renn gracing the cover. The question of how long this affair with plus size will last is anyone’s guess, however, whether it will make any lasting changes or advances, or encourage medical regulation in the industry is another matter altogether.

 

 

From left: Alessandra Ambrosio, Brooklyn Decker and Crystal Renn on the June US Glamour shot