Is the promise of change of the fashion industry really happening? -Fashion Trends

The fashion industry seems to be in a promising state: the promise of greater diversity and inclusion; promises to move away from the old standard of model weight.

With another fashion month currently in our midst, it’s clear that while these issues are far behind us, there is still movement in the right direction particularly in terms of age and diversity. of body. While the Fall/Winter 2022 shows are a more progressive fashion season than many of their predecessors, there’s still a long way to go.

Body diversity in fashion seems to follow a push and pull pattern. Fall/Winter 2020 sorely lacks size variety, while the next season, Spring/Summer 2021, sees a significant increase in historic clothing size variety shows, then declines. Fall/Winter 2021. These fluctuations between the use of models outside of the standard sample size make it difficult to understand or discern whether size diversity is being used as an open trend. over or will really change the world.

European fashion houses are especially skillful when it comes to body diversity. The image of brands such as Saint Laurent, Celine and Prada is associated with the use of tall models so thin that the styling is almost a barrier to their wearing.

It’s easy to think of body diversity as someone like Ashley Graham, a model who deviated from high fashion standards in size but retained everything else in terms of whiteness, figure and proportions. height.

Oversized clothing is generally considered a size 12 and up, however, the average body size for an American woman is between 16 and 18, a size often not even available in luxury brands. The problem is not the lack of models over size 12, nor the lack of willingness of casting directors, agents or editors. It lies in the use of “standard” model sizes that European designers are often particularly fond of. Europe has always lagged behind New York in terms of diversity and inclusion, but their physical lack of readiness for diversity very quickly caught up with them. This season, however, it seems that European markets are making strides to catch up with their US counterparts; Age diversity is particularly likely to increase for Fall/Winter 2022.

Saint Laurent, Max Mara, Chloé and Prada are all full of models of all ages, as is Balenciaga, as Creative Director Demna Gvasalia has been known to use models of all ages. Caroline Trentini (34) and Jessica Stam (35) have returned to fashion week for Max Mara, and although these models are far from “old” they are still well beyond the typical age of models. .

Prada filled its Fall/Winter 2022 show with models who have appeared at the fashion house decades ago, an homage to the modeling profession. Arizona Muse, Kinga Rajzek, Amanda Murphy, Erin O’Connor, Querelle Jansen, Suvi Riggs, Hannelore Knuts, Emily Sandberg Gold, Marina Perez, and Elise Crombez were all on the runway.

However, the fashion house with the most impressive age diversity is Valentino. While fashion houses sometimes present models older than the norm, often ’90s icons like Naomi Campbell or Kate Moss, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli uses models of all ages. Piccioli also took first place for body diversity in the Spring/Summer 2022 couture collection for the brand, which used a variety of body sizes and ages. High fashion, often with the least variety in sizes due to the use of “underwear models” to which every look in the collection matches, has been transformed by Piccioli, a hopeful signal that opens the door. for other European designers to follow.

While great strides have been made in terms of body and age diversity on the runway, the two are often seen as mutually exclusive at least in the case of Valentino (Fall/Winter 2022 show). of Piccioli has only one plus-size model). Such divergence raises concerns: Do these inclusions come from a desire to stay on trend, or concern with actual change in the industry? The future of this industry is in the hands of the younger generations of designers, photographers, editors, stylists and more now working to make the change needed for the industry. fashion. As we move into the future, collection after collection will allow us to follow the evolution of fashion in real time.