Plus-size lingerie- a catalyst for change?

When doing my usual morning routine of checking Facebook and Twitter in case anything exciting happened over night, then moving onto my emails, I stumbled across one of high importance! It was from the Business of Fashion titled ‘The Fashion Industry (still) Has an Image Problem’, and as I read further down the article it became clear that it discusses my dissertation topic.  At first I was concerned...that had my original idea not been so original or was it just that good that the fashion industry was even considering the topic?

My dissertation looks at consumer perceptions of plus-size, focussing on lingerie and models in advertisements to determine if perceptions can be changed using the media, models and advertising.

Image of My Dissertation

 After weeks of hard graft and research I have concluded that industry should drop the ‘plus-size’ label amongst models and just combine all body sizes to work in unison in the advertising world.....although it must be confirmed that whilst I state ‘models of all sizes’ it is important to recognise health issues and not go too big or small.  Models that exist in industry under the category ‘plus-size’ are not what consumers in the UK categorise as plus-size anyway; they are merely glamorous, toned women that are slightly larger than the size-zero models we are usually succumbed to on the catwalks. 

This means that, whilst Milan Fashion Week showcased very plus-size models on the catwalk, this is not what my research references.  I mean models such as Robyn Lawley and Candice Huffine, who themselves fight back at the label of ‘plus-size’, they have normal body shapes yet are classed as plus-size in the modelling world; in reality they are size 16 and 6ft tall thus their proportions are evened out! 

Image from Daily Mail

 

So what has the Business of Fashion got to do with this? Well the article details that H&M has introduced ‘normal-sized’ (NOT plus-size) mannequins into their Swedish stores and placed them in the lingerie department, however, this was later corrected to being an Ahlens store.  So you can understand my shock upon reading this, it is as if they have read my whole dissertation and concluded the same thing that I have...that women want to see larger models and mannequins to represent the ‘normal/average’ body size!

Image from Business of Fashion

This proves that my research has been worthwhile and relevant to the fashion industry.  The UK consumers that filled out my questionnaires and took part in my focus groups, and even the industry experts who did my focus group, concluded that they want the label of ‘plus-size’ dropped amongst models, so that they could all work together in advertisements and on catwalks.  Furthermore, they think lingerie can be the start of change...the average bra size in the UK is 36D so it is important for women to be educated.  You can wear what is classed as a ‘plus-size’ bra but still have a tiny body size and wear size 8/10 clothes; it is because our perceptions have been manufactured by the industry and our vision is distorted regarding what we categorise as plus-size.

This debate could go on and on but I just wanted to get it out there...that I researched it first!  If retailers are catching onto this idea, maybe it could pave the way for the rest of the fashion industry?