Diversity and the Women’s Fashion Industry: Plus-Size Models Offer Women More Room To Be Themselves

French magazine Elle is the latest of a growing number of fashion magazines to feature “plus-size” models, following the lead of Vogue and Glamour, among others reports Ximena Ramirez on care2.com. The fashion industry, it seems, is just coming to realize that catering to a more diverse female audience means reaching a much farther reaching audience. Noting that these “plus-size” spreads are still a rarity in fashion magazines, Ramirez writes:

“These are baby steps, I know, but without them we will never get to a point where ‘plus-size’ models are sprinkled throughout the pages of all magazines and strutting across runways around the world alongside straight size models. Maybe then we can talk about redefining the word ‘plus-size.’”

As the fashion world tries on what many may see as just a diversity fad and takes it on a walk on the inclusion runway, pejorative labels such as “plus-size” could disappear altogether–and women of all body types could find it easier to see themselves affirmed for being themselves.

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