Tara Lynn (recently off of the H & M photo shoot), Candice Huffine (Nogue Germany, W Magazine) and Robyn Lawley (Australian Cosmopolitan) are featured on Vogue Italia’s June 2013 cover with Marquita Pring (Jean Paul Gaultier’s model) featured inside.  Quite the resume’s don’t you think?

Vogue Italia’s Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani who launched a petition against pro anorexia websites, was quoted in Fashion Trade  Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily,

“We help [plus-size women] dress fashionably. We say: It’s pointless for you to buy leggings, take this because this will look good on you. We help them choose. We don’t talk about diets because they don’t want to be on a diet, but it’s not a ghetto. Why should these women slim down? Many of the women who have a few extra kilos are especially beautiful and also more feminine.”

Enough said!!

Check out this week’s Fashion Flash from Moving Free with Mirabai.

Agencies in Australia, London, even Malaysia are popping up with plus size models.  Many plus size models are having luck  getting work through talent agencies.  Bella Rahim (pictured below) is an example of one model from Malaysia who has found success.

The message is clear and two-fold: women need to know that it is ok to be who they are and things are slowly changing.  A fuller size does not equal an inability to be fashionable.  It is essential to instill a healthy, realistic self-image in women. And leaders in the fashion industry appear to be committed to facilitate this shift.

Several months ago, Plus Model Magazine had a bold shoot featuring a nude plus-size model posing alongside a straight-size model. The magazine released some interesting statistics regarding the conditions of models in the fashion industry today compared with previous years. An average fashion model used to weigh 8% less than the average woman, but today, that figure is 23%.

Hey, if  Karl Lagerfeld can change his mind (when he cast plus size models in shoots and hired Beth Ditto to headline a Fendi party), who knows what’s next?

Check out this week’s Fashion Flash from Prime Beauty.

I had to read the reviews twice because I could not believe what I was reading…

At a fashion show for Allistyle, which was named in honor of Alli Shapiro who died in 2006, was suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which made her weight fluctuate. They had a hard time finding clothes Alli could wear, and Alli and her mom began the plus size clothing line.

According to Kevin Naulls, who covered World Mastercard Toronto Fashion Week,

“Except, for some of the front row at this packed show, it was a joke. One gentleman spent the entire show laughing and hiding his face from the photo pit with his line sheet, while others exchanged barbs privately and cackled audibly. Even four different people were overheard talking about how poorly the women walked because they were bigger women on high heels. Why is (fashion show decorum) so militantly followed at all other shows, but when a woman who is a size 12 is sent down the runway, all bets are off?”

Here’s the deal…their line STARTS at a size 8. What’s so funny?

Seriously?  Every time I think we are making some kind of progress, I read about an incident like this and it makes me wonder.  Is  it that the prejudiced will always be prejudiced and small minds will always stay small?

What I know is that those  models had their heads held high!

More as it happens!

Some ways to go…

Just want to get the word out!

Here’s your chance to model plus size fashions on the style segment of NBC’s Today Show!

Go to this link and share your photo and info with Today and you just may be the one to show off the new Fall Fashions on the Today Show!

Good Luck!

Check out this week’s Fashion Flash with Staness of Menopause Makeover

Well, this is great news! Whitney Thompson the plus size winning model from America’s Top Models is the face of Anna Scholz White Label Collection which debuted last week! Whitney looks stunning in Anna Scholz bold prints and embellished items, don’t you think?

Size 16 Robyn Lawly, Australian and Italian Vogue’s Cover Girl has signed on with Ralph Lauren as his first plus size model!  Lawly came under some criticism recently as the new face of lingerie brand Boux Avenue.  The brand was criticized for airbrushing Lawly to what readers said was a size 12.

Well, that does defeat the purpose and is totally up to the brand as to how they want to portray their models.  Determining size is difficult. Perhaps in time, they will change their minds or relax their requirements.

Both Lawly and Thompson are such great representatives for  plus size women and we are excited to see them in mainstream media publications and representing such esteemed brands as Lauren and Scholz.  Way to go!

Check out the Fashion Flash from No Nonsense Beauty Blog!

Jodell

With my recent posts that an increasing number of companies are using plus size models, it is apparent that the trend is not my imagination as UK Model Agency is reporting that more companies are requesting models who better represent the general public and can keep it real!

So, we are not imagining that the trend is on the increase.   ’Size doesn’t mean shame,’ says Helen Stark, fashion editor for UKMA. ‘Men and women are certainly getting bigger and the fashion industry has recognised this and know they now need to represent men and women of bigger stature.’ She goes on to say, ‘now has never been a better time for those who have got the swagger and the look, to consider going into modelling, even if they are a size 20. With more and more fashion outlets opening to cater for larger sizes, models are needed to sell the clothing in the fashion shows in the first place, but also for the hundreds of plus size catalogues that are sold on behalf of plus size clothing companies.’

We’ll be watching!  Let’s hope this trend continues! Also, I would like to introduce our newest blogger, Mirabai! Check out her site Moving Free with Mirabai!

Kellogg’s Special K cereal is starting a new ad campaign that will include images of real women.

The company has chosen to feature non-professional females with no modeling or acting experience that will have a Body Mass Index of up to 29. Special K has decided to do this as a way to change the way weight loss is viewed.

A Special K spokesperson has addressed the campaign saying, “We want to encourage a responsible attitude when it comes to body image and to show that losing weight isn’t  just about the way you look or a certain size you need to conform to, but more importantly about the way it makes you feel.”

Well, let’s see what the company thinks is “plus size” and how the plus size women are portrayed.

It could be another step in the right direction.

More as it happens! Jodell

There is a new media company in town! We were excited to hear about Truth and Fashion whose mission it is to showcase curvy models.

The site features plus size model info, model agency info as well as editorial info which showcases the latest editorials, campaigns, videos, and behind-the-scenes images of plus model fashion shoots from around the world.

In addition, there is also a blog which has images of featured models. A proponent of plus size models, they also have features that are plus size relevant! You will want to check out this site as it is an important resource for all things plus!

We hope that they add more content to this site as it is important to put the dialogue with the images!

Check out this week’s Fashion Flash!

More as it happens, Jodell

A recent study conducted by Ben Barry of the Ben Barry Agency who was doing the research as a part of his doctoral thesis reveals that women want to see an attainable, realistic version of who they are and not an unattainable version!

Barry conducted focus groups with over 2500 women of all ethnicities, ages 14 to 65 and with dress size 0 to 18 across the U.S. and Canada.

The study found that diversity in body type helps sell clothes! We knew that!

Barry said, “My study found that women increased their purchase intentions by more than 200 percent when the models in the mock ads were their size. In the subgroup over size 6, women increased their purchase intentions by a dramatic 300 percent when they saw curvier models. Conversely, when women saw models who didn’t reflect their size, they decreased their purchase intentions by 60 percent, and women over size 6 dropped their purchase intentions by 76 percent.”

Leading Plus Size Magazine Cover with Model Fluvia Lacerda

The same actions occurred when buyers saw women of their own age in the ads.  When viewing a model who resembled her body type said, “I’d buy the dress in an instant because [the model] looks like me. I can see how this dress will hug my curves in all the right spots.”

It is no surprise that women felt beautiful and confident when they saw models who had similar traits and felt motivated enough to buy the dress.

That’s what we have been saying all along….WHEN will the designers listen?

More as it  happens,

Jodell

I was reading an article recently from the U.K. that talked about plus size models and that a larger-size model shows other plus size women that it is possible to maintain a positive body image and look good.   The controversy centered around whether having models that are too large sends the wrong message.

Photo: V Magazine

So, here are the key questions?

1. How large should a plus size model be and can models be too large?

What do you think?

By the way, check out this week’s Fashion Flash from The No Nonsense Beauty Blog!