“There is nothing more beautiful than showing something that’s real" – Midsize representation within the fashion industry
Anushka Moore started the Instagram account midsizecollective after feeling like she did not fit into a category. She did not fit into the petite category, nor did she fit into the plus size category – “I just thought it would be nice to have a place where girls who are in the size range from 10 or 12 to 16, 18 who are constantly struggling for style inspiration from girls that actually look like them. It would be nice if we had a place to go, discover new people, support one another, celebrate each others bodies, and I decided I would be the one who would start it – so midsizecollective was born.”
In the past, within the fashion industry representation of body types mainly comprises of small bodies. Bodies that make the clothes that brands sell look good, bodies that people desire to have, and bodies that represent their brand’s aesthetic in the right way. The marketing ploy is apparent, after all, brands need to sell their products. But who and when did anybody say that small, slim, and petite girls are the only ones who can look good in clothes? And who said it was a good idea to make a million other average sized women feel crap about themselves?
We spoke to Anushka to gage her view on the current state of inclusivity within the fashion industry, and here’s what she had to say: “I do think that [brands] they are becoming more size inclusive. We are seeing so many curvier models now and it’s just so refreshing, it’s lovely. For the first time since I started enjoying fashion when I was in my teens I’m seeing models out there who actually look like me!”
“What we really want is for you guys to follow one size chart so that when we try on a pair of size 12 jeans in Topshop, it’s going to be a size 12.”
Not only within the marketing side of representation, but the sizes stocked within clothing stores are proving to be an issue for many women. “When I first started midsizecollective that was a question people asked me, and I kind of put it out to everybody saying ‘I think that Topshop needs to be more size inclusive’ and I got over 100 messages from girls saying that they couldn’t agree more. If they normally wear a size 12 and they go in and try on a pair of size 12 jeans in Topshop they always fit like an 8 or a 10. The other big issue is that size 14s and 16s always seem to be either out of stock or just not on the shop floor in Topshop’s stores.
Although there is a lack of size inclusivity from some brands, there are some that are very inclusive. “Boohoo has an amazing ‘curve’ range, and they do some amazing adverts and marketing for it – very inclusive of sizing. Missguided are getting there, they are great with their adverts and marketing but I’ve not seen a lot of really amazing ‘curve’ things on there yet. ASOS have always been really good with it. Primark have always covered a vast amount of sizes.”
And not only do brands not stocking sizes cause underrepresentation, but what about how sizing differs from store to store? You might be a size 12 in one shop, yet a size 16 in another. “You heard it hear first, in Mollie Quirk’s interview for Overtime. Brands, this is what women want. It’s all we want. And it’s not too much to ask for, is for you guys to come together and follow a universal sizing chart. Really it’s not that hard. You guys have all of the money and resources in the world. You can move mountains – is it really that hard to take the misery out of clothes shopping and all just agree that ‘these are the measurements for a size 12, and these are the measurements for a size 14’.”
“I actually turned down a collaboration with them [NA-KD fashion] because I noticed that most of their styles stop at a size 12. Which I just think is ridiculous.”
We asked Topshop to comment on their sizing, but they gave us no response.
In the past, within the fashion industry representation of body types mainly comprises of small bodies. Bodies that make the clothes that brands sell look good, bodies that people desire to have, and bodies that represent their brand’s aesthetic in the right way. The marketing ploy is apparent, after all, brands need to sell their products. But who and when did anybody say that small, slim, and petite girls are the only ones who can look good in clothes? And who said it was a good idea to make a million other average sized women feel crap about themselves?
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