Fashion Week just passed and while there were some plus size highlights, the lack of representation was the overwhelming theme (again). It’s not surprising that research shows that 81% of women don’t feel represented by fashion advertising in general and a whopping 90% don’t feel represented by fashion models or runway shows!
Given that we ALL have to wear clothes, we should all be able to find and buy clothes that fit not just our body, but also our style, our budget and our values. But for many women that is not the case.
New US body data, published by social-shopping platform Mys Tyler, shows that more than half (54.4%) of women in the US wear a size 14 or above — considered “plus size” by the industry. And despite plus size being the majority, this segment of consumers has it the worst when it comes to shopping, with a host of additional limitations beyond those experienced by the straight and mid-sized categories.
If we can talk about it more, perhaps we can all impact the change we need to see? To start off the conversation, we asked three women in the fashion industry to talk about gaps and opportunities in the plus size market.
