Written by Oscar Holland, CNN
For modeling agent Chelsea Bonner, securing a spot on the runway for plus-size women at Australian Fashion Week has always been difficult.
“The challenge each season, to get one, two or three size 12 models on the runway at fashion week, is huge,” she said by phone from Sydney. “The amount of time it takes, the amount of convincing you have to do, it’s just a real battle.”
So Bonner, whose agency Bella Management has about 60 plus-figure models on its books, took matters into her own hands: She staged the event’s first show dedicated exclusively to plus-size brands.
A model walks the runway in a design by Saint Somebody, one of six brands participating in the show. Credit: Mark Nolan/Getty Images
“I was like, ‘You know what, I just want to do it myself,'” she recounted. “And once everyone sees how perfect she is, it can help break down all those old, outdated, preconceived ideas about what a model is and what a woman looks like.”
With recent editions of Australian Fashion Week criticized for its lack of inclusive casting (following last year’s event, plus-size model Kate Wasley wrote on Instagram that diversity had been “non-existent” and urged the country to “get a day”), organizers were receptive to the idea, Bonner said. She invited six local brands that design clothes for women in sizes 12 to 26, equivalent to 8 to 22 in US sizes, to participate in a show called “The Curve Edit.”
On Thursday, in Sydney’s Eveleigh neighbourhood, brands sent a total of 84 looks onto the runway in front of some 650 guests. Nearly 30 of Bonner’s models, including one of Australia’s best-known plus-size models, Robyn Lawley, wore items ranging from swimsuits to elegant dresses.
A model gets ready backstage before The Curve Edit show. Credit: Mark Nolan/Getty Images
Participating designer Kerry Pietrobon, who co-founded plus-size brand Harlow with her husband in 2012, said the show was a reminder that “fashion is for everyone.”
“As a human, I have felt like a second-class citizen,” she said in a telephone interview. “And as a brand, as someone who works in fashion, I’ve always felt that we’re not considered ‘fashion’.” .'”
Harlow, which Pietrobon created after she struggled to find stylish clothes that fit her body type, sent 14 looks to the runway, including printed maxi dresses and all-black evening wear. Elsewhere, size-inclusive brand Embody Women showcased structured suits and form-fitting dresses that “don’t shy away from a fuller figure, (but) celebrate it,” founder Natalie Wakeling explained via email.
Other labels featured on the show included Saint Somebody, 17 Sundays, Vagary and Zaliea.
A model walks the runway in a dress by Embody Women. Credit: Caroline McCredie/Getty Images
work to do
Although the so-called “Big Four” fashion weeks (New York, London, Milan and Paris) have yet to dedicate an entire show to plus-size fashion, curvy models have been slowly gaining visibility on the upper echelons. of the industry. In January, Italian brand Valentino won praise for showcasing fuller-figured body types at Paris Haute Couture Week, an event known for its use of abandoned models.
But while Australia’s flagship fashion event has clearly moved on with this year’s casting, the country lags behind the rest of the industry, according to Saint Somebody founder and creative director Sophie Henderson-Smart.
“Australia is way behind our friends in the US, and part of my vision for us is that we can seamlessly intertwine curvy and straight fashion,” she said by email ahead of Thursday’s show, where Saint Somebody showed his new “Just the Way You Are” Collection. “This is the first time in its 26-year history that Australian Fashion Week has featured a curvy designer, let alone an entire show dedicated to curvy fashion.”
The six labels sent more than 80 looks down the runway at Thursday’s show. Credit: Mark Nolan/Getty Images
Diversity was on display elsewhere at the event, with two shows highlighting the work of indigenous and Torres Strait Islander designers. The show also featured a presentation on “adaptive” fashion, a term used to describe clothing designed for people with disabilities.
But while Bonner welcomed the inclusion of her models, she said the need for a dedicated plus-size event shows there’s still work to be done. The goal, he added, is for all catwalks to be representative of diverse body shapes.
“I think the next step is the same as always, and the one I’ve been pushing for from the beginning, which is to help brands and designers understand that… we are the primary consumer of fashion, and I would like to be recognized and represented.
Source: www.cnn.com