Fashion Brands, Extend Your Sizing!
By Akosua Asare
Being a fat person who loves fashion and high fashion brands is starting to feel silly. I am constantly watching fashion shows, picking up my Vogue issues from the mailbox, keeping up with my favorite brands, scrolling through the Vogue Runway app, and online shopping (window shopping most of the time).
It is never lost on me that not only do none of the people wearing my favorite clothes look like me, but none of my favorite designers consider me in their sizing and therefore do not want me wearing their clothes.
Far too many times have I found a self-proclaimed ethical, “better-than-fast-fashion” brand on social media that I wanted to support, only to find that they don’t carry any plus sizes. We are moving further into a culture of sustainable and/or secondhand shopping, supporting small businesses, and prioritizing quality over quantity. However, this trend of buying ethically has not made space for plus-sized people.
As sketchy as fast fashion brands are, fast fashion powerhouses like Fashion Nova and Forever 21 combined make up a large percentage of the plus-sized market (Approx. 50%!). However, according to EDITED, less than 20% of sustainable fashion brands offer plus sizes. So, not only are fast-fashion brands more affordable, but they seem to be the only segment of the fashion…
