Mark Fast is one of the newest designers to showcase at London Fashion Week in his second season and when I discovered that he had used Plus-size models in his latest show, I applauded him for taking such a huge step and bending the rules for a change.
As we all know in this Industry, beauty is defined by 'tall and skinny' but after carefully analysing the footage of his show, I could understand why it is such a BIG issue. As much as I like to believe that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes; and believe me I do, I couldn't help but notice when one of Fast's Plus-size model's nearly fell as she was making a turn at the and of the runway, it was a slightly uncomfortable moment to watch but I gave her the benefit of the doubt all the same; maybe she was just nervous but then again skinny models have also tripped, even fell flat on their faces on the runway in the past.
However, their walks may not have been as effortless and fluid as the skinny girls', but they worked those cute mini dresses and showed that anyone can do the catwalk. I do think that this move will spark alot of change in the industry and encourage other designers to create clothing for all types of women. Very soon we'll be seeing more Plus-size and black models on the catwalk and maybe in the future designers will even consider short models. Watch this space!
F.Y.I
PPQ used exclusively black models for his SS/10 show
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...for 'America's next top models' recent filming (Cycle 13), Tyra Banks only casted models who were 5'7 and under. Not the usual suspects I know, but at the same time it shows that short girls have the potential too.
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...also, the Sykes collection was presented on models up to the age of 70.
..then again, these are just topics for another blog post. Would love to hear what you think though. xoxo
