The Vogue Business Autumn/Winter 2023 Size Inclusivity Report

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The debate around size inclusivity reached a peak this season, as journalists called out the lack of body diversity on the runway, and emerging size-inclusive designers highlighted the shortcomings of luxury brands when it comes to mid-size and plus-size representation.

According to Vogue Business data collected throughout fashion month, the autumn/winter 2023 season failed to make progress in terms of size representation on the runway. Of 9,137 looks across 219 shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris, just 0.6 per cent were plus-size (US 14+) and 3.8 per cent were mid-size (US 6-12). This means 95.6 per cent of looks presented for autumn/winter 2023 were in a size US 0-4.

Vogue Business analysed every autumn/winter 2023 runway show and presentation reviewed by Vogue Runway from the official New York, London, Milan and Paris calendars to determine the proportion of total looks that are straight size, mid-size and plus-size. Brands were contacted to allow them to verify the data and informed that if they did not verify, the initial figures collected by Vogue Business would be used. Sizing ranges were determined based on typical sample sizes for straight sizing and established definitions of mid and plus-size. 

Read more: Fall 2023 Fashion Trends To Know

Across the entire season, only 17 brands featured at least one plus-size look. The brands with the highest percentage of plus-size models over a US 14 were Sinéad O’Dwyer, Ester Manas, Karoline Vitto, Di Petsa and Bach Mai. These same brands also featured the highest percentage of mid-size models. Data was determined by number of looks, to account for one model potentially representing multiple looks for bigger bodies on the runway. However, most of the top-ranking shows featured a greater number of mid-size models, with very little plus-size representation. And it’s important to note that for many of the bigger brands like Dior, the mid-size looks on their runways were on the cusp of the straight-size range.

“Plus-size representation has gone backwards,” says Felicity Hayward, a plus-size model who was scouted by fashion photographer Miles Aldridge 12 years ago, when there were no plus-size models in the British fashion industry. Hayward, who has been tracking plus-size representation since 2019 through her project #IncludingTheCurve, stopped attending London Fashion Week in 2019 due to the lack of size inclusivity, but returned last season for spring/summer 2023.

What happened to size inclusivity in fashion? Over the last decade, the body positivity movement has grown online, with curve models such as Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser, Jill Kortleve and Alva Claire becoming household names. Brands like Versace featured plus-size models on the runway for the first time in 2021; Dolce & Gabbana and Erdem extended their sizing ranges; and the press heralded a new era for size inclusivity in fashion. Even Victoria’s Secret did away with its fashion show, criticised for only featuring straight-size women, and cast curve models like Elsesser and Kortleve in its campaigns. Now, injectable diabetes drug Ozempic, an appetite suppressant, is trending and the media is declaring that “heroin chic is back”.

“Bodies should never be a trend. We need inclusive bodies on the runway so that bodies don’t become trends,” says Hayward. “If you want to create a new generation of people who are having fewer mental health issues and body image issues and reaching body neutrality, it is by pressuring these designers to show everybody.”

Some brands have expanded size range to reach a global plus-size market projected to reach $288 billion in value this year, per Future Market Insights. Gucci’s autumn/winter 2023 collection will be produced in sizes IT34 to 54, and for tops, skirts, jerseys, T-shirts, sweatshirts and underwear the sizes range from XXXS to 4XL, according to the brand. And Chanel said their autumn/winter 2023 collection will be sold up to a FR50 (US18/UK22). Gucci had 10 mid-size models, while Chanel had four, however, no plus-size models walked the runway at either show to present how their expanded sizing range could look above a US12.

“It’s a shame when brands do actually make bigger sizes but they don’t show it on the runway,” says Amsterdam-based former model and influencer Vivian Hoorn who, based on her experiences in fashion, founded inclusive modelling agency Scala management and size-inclusive clothing brand Viveh. “From experience, I can tell you, plus-size is selling. I would be a customer for them if I could see plus-size looks [on the runway].”

Emerging talents are leading the charge. Why?

While the industry’s major players fail to represent mid-size or plus-size bodies, fashion’s emerging talents are driving size inclusivity forward. London topped the rankings this season in terms of plus-size representation, driven by emerging designers Karoline Vitto and Sinéad O’Dwyer, both in their second ever show season, who presented 100 per cent and 90.5 per cent of looks on mid-size and plus-size models, respectively. 

Vitto, who is from Brazil, is part of talent incubator Fashion East. Her show featured 75 per cent mid-size and 25 per cent plus-size models, wearing not just stretchy dresses but tailored separates and jackets. “AW23 was a huge achievement for us personally because it included tailoring, which is a completely different making process from jersey,” the designer says. Adapting all of that to curve and plus was a huge undertaking to be honest.”

Inclusivity has always been a core part of Paris brand Ester Manas’s identity since it launched back in 2019. “Having an inclusive casting has always been one of our ethos since the first collection. The main concept of our garments is to be one size and fit all body types,” the brand says, adding that certain products they are creating this season, such as trousers, will have dropped two sizes as it’s difficult to apply the “one-size fits all” model across all categories. Of the show, they say: “It wasn’t difficult at all, we [have] worked with the same casting director since the start who understands what we’re looking for, and our garments fit any model we chose to have anyway, so there’s no sizing difficulties for us.”

While creating bigger size ranges comes naturally to emerging talents, casting plus-size models requires brands to think ahead of time, designers agree, as the quick turnaround nature of runway casting, typically done in the days running up to the show, doesn’t allow for the kind of alterations needed to adapt pieces to variations for bigger bodies.

“Last season we found it very difficult to do the casting process,” O’Dwyer says. “The system of seasonal fashion and doing shows has not been created to have diverse people on the runway.” For autumn/winter 2023, she precast 12 of her models out of 21 in collaboration with casting director Emma Matell. She then made their looks made-to-measure, including a three-piece suit in size 22. This season, she wanted to focus on the tailored garments, which she can produce in size UK 6 to 30 (US 2 to 26), which require more alterations depending on the model. “It was nice to be able to have someone really embody the look and not just go with whoever it fits.”

New York brand Collina Strada takes a similar approach, says founder Hillary Taymour. The brand included one plus-size look and 10 mid-size looks at its February show. “It definitely varies depending on the season and the models. We sometimes make looks ahead of time and then alter them to fit individuals, but generally it just takes a small effort and thought process beforehand to accommodate sizing on the runway.”

Another issue is a lack of model availability, designers agree. London designer Ahluwalia’s show featured two mid-size girls, but the team also created six looks in a UK 18. “There are only a select number of mid-size and plus-size runway models and because of that, all the brands kind of battle each other to cast them in shows,” the brand said in an email.

“We make the collections for what I want to represent. We had one model [this season] who was a size 14 US who I loved so much we ended up putting her in the most looks in the show,” says Christian Siriano, who included 17 mid-size looks and one plus-size look in his autumn/winter 2023 show. “There are obviously challenges to developing clothes early on in so many different sizes – it’s a lot of work.”

Working with materials such as knitwear is helping Tokyo-based label CFCL cater to various body types. “Taking advantage of the unique elasticity of knitwear, for example, dresses and skirts have the same width, and only the length differs by 10 to 12cm depending on the size,” the brand said over email. This season’s collection will have only three sizes – 1, 3, and 5 – and the brand says it used its runway show in Paris to highlight how the clothes can be worn on different body types, ages and genders. CFCL ranked number five for the top shows of PFW autumn/winter 2023 based on size inclusivity. Mark Fast, who ranked fourth in London, has a similar approach, with a size system of A, B and C for his stretch garments. “That is the beauty of knitwear. It lends itself to different body shapes as the nature of it is to stretch and contour around the body,” he says.

Tokenism and box ticking

Jeanie Annan-Lewin, stylist and creative director of Perfect magazine, used to get excited when seeing a bigger body on the runway. But now she knows better: in her experience, the majority of larger mid-size or plus-size looks aren’t shown to buyers at the showroom, don’t go into production and can’t be featured in shoots. “Don’t put a plus-size model on the runway if you don’t have their size, that’s tokenism. But, if you do have a huge range, you should be showing models of all sizes,” says Hayward.

While many of the brands assessed by Vogue Business included mid-size looks at the lower end of the range, Christian Siriano stresses that plus-size representation can often speak to a much wider demographic than straight-size models can. “Even if we’re thinking about a woman who’s a US 6 or 8, they can still often see themselves a bit more in a [model] who’s a 12 or 14 US rather than they can when the dress is really small,” he says. Most of Siriano’s customers are either US 2 to 4 or US 16 to 18, he says.

Size-inclusive labels need retailers’ support

Karoline Vitto is currently stocked at smaller e-tailers including Apoc Store and her own e-commerce site, which holds stock and offers made-to-order. For autumn/winter 2023, she’s keen to build out wholesale to boost brand discovery. But it comes with risks, as one store she works with only purchased smaller sizes. 

“Moving forward, I don’t want to dilute the brand,” she says. “I don’t want it to come to a place where the bigger sizes are only available on my website because that also creates another layer of exclusion, because then the customer can’t try them on in real life.”

Net-a-Porter says there are limitations to what sizes they can buy based on what brands offer. The retailer is stocking a range of brands that focus on size inclusivity, mostly in the premium and affordable space.

Matchesfashion.com has been working on expanding its size range. Its core size range is XS to XL or UK 6 to 14, with everything outside of that on either end included in its extended sizing range. For spring/summer 2022, the luxury multi-brand retailer increased its purchases of extended sizes by 40 per cent year-on-year, with sales for those sizes growing 60 per cent. It reflects “the demand for a broader range of sizing in luxury fashion”, says head of womenswear Liane Wiggins. “Like our team, our customers are a diverse range of sizes, and we want to ensure our buy reflects this and that we are offering the best size range across our edit,” she says.

Currently, 65 per cent of ready-to-wear brands at Matchesfashion.com offer inclusive sizing across the total edit. The retailer has worked with brands such as Zimmerman and Erdem exclusively to extend their size range, alongside brands such as Chloé, The Vampire’s Wife, Alexander McQueen, Valentino and Roksanda. Extended sizes will be available for its spring/summer 2023 exclusive capsule with Cecilie Bahnsen, and the retailer is working to offer a wider range for autumn/winter 2023. “For some of our smaller and more contemporary brands it can be challenging for them to extend across all sizes as it is a commitment in terms of product development, and there will always be cost implications. However, we have worked with several of our brands over the years to ensure we are offering a full and extended size run where we can,” says Wiggins.

Siriano’s business is fully direct-to-consumer now. “I’ve noticed a huge change in how our customers are shopping. Because we have such a range of sizes, we’re getting such a range of diverse women coming in because they know there’s going to be something they can try on. That’s the biggest thing, because going shopping when you’re different shapes and sizes or just in general can be a challenge.”

O’Dwyer is already stocked at Ssense and H.Lorenzo and hopes to add more stockists next season. But it’s a long road. “I’ve sometimes been, like, a bit frustrated because we’ll put all this time into a great grading for a size that then never gets bought,” she says. “Buyers sometimes buy all the small sizes and none of the bigger sizes – it can be quite disheartening.” Last season, however, one retailer did buy up to a size 20, which gave her hope. “There’s lots of challenges, but mainly lots of excitement.”

With additional reporting by Emily Forkan

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