Fat VS Fashion

Fat and fashion have long been fundamentally opposed, and attempts to reconcile the two have generally resulted in the triumph of the thin. Considering that JLo's once voluptuous bottom has now shrunk to supermodel proportions in the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign similar to Sophie Dahl who left her curvacious contemporaries to a more slimmed-down fraction of her former self. The question is; do plus-sized women want more clothing options or is fashion off the radar? Despite the oft-repeated claim that about half the population is a size 16 (or bigger) these larger sizes account for only 34 per cent of womenswear sales, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres Fashion Trak. Many women are perpetually trying to lose weight, and are not prepard to invest hundreds of pounds on clothes if they think they will drop a size. Mainstream designers, especially, seem to avoid the bigger customer. Brit designers Margarett Howell, Ronit Zilkha, Betty Jackson and Nicole Fahri cater for up to a size 16, while John Rocha and Paul Smith stop at a size 14. The answer to why retailers and brands are reluctant to service plus sizes is the added logistical complication of carrying too many sizes. There is a lack of fashion, however, in the larger size departments and consumers are asking for more fashion - not just classics. While they can purchase Manolo Blahnik shoes and a Prada bag, they could not shop these brands for clothes. Designers, perhaps, share the prejudice that the plus-size market is difficult and not glamourous. To read any contemporary magazine will emphasize that being fat isn't fashionable and is only marketed toward a thinner customer. It's an ongoing battle with an under-supplied market going up against the larger customer who is happy with being fat. While the choice for clothes is certainly not equally distributed across the size range, it must be more difficult to convince a woman who is size 28 to buy a pair of pants than selling jeans to a skinny girl.