Big-bottomed girls

It's not just a song from the beloved repertoire by pop group Queen, but also a theme that is taking over the fashion world. The skinny debate is still raging and with inexplicably perfect timing US Vogue - to many the fashion bible - has featured the full-figured actress Jennifer Hudson on its March cover. Not only is she the third ever African-American to front the magazine, she is also the antithesis of everything that Vogue - and the fashion industry at large - have stood for through the ages. For decades women have been taught that the only truly acceptable version of beauty is the slim one. Fuller figures have never been the mark of success...until now, that is. It is hard to believe that Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour would condone anyone over a size 2 gracing the cover of her magazine, but her words are evidence to the contrary. Of Hudson she writes: " "(She's) also a style icon whose happiness in her own skin is something we can draw strength from. The question of body image is a current one, and I can't think of a more compelling and beautiful argument for the proposition that great fashion looks great on women of all sizes than the sight of Hudson in a Vera Wang dress on the red carpet..." Having a publication like Vogue celebrating the fuller figure in its magazine could help adjust the concept of beauty as it stands.

Less than a decade ago, rake-thin model Gisele Bündchen was held up as the poster child for "voluptuous" curves. Nobody could compete or even compare themselves with that standard. Hudson, who won a Golden Globe for her role in the film Dreamgirls after losing out as a contestant on American Idols, is someone most women can relate to. Vogue may have won a major battle in the war on skinny, but only time will tell how much impact the victory will have.