Embracing Size-Inclusivity in Fashion: a guest blog from CFI Intern Jackie Govea
While many of us, as consumers, enjoy shopping it’s not always a pleasant shopping experience when you cannot find clothing that fits your needs or size. Fashion options should not be limited to the size, shape, height, ability or gender of our bodies. Instead these features should be embraced. Brands and businesses can do this in a variety of ways, such as creating inclusivity in their campaigns, using different sized mannequins, and marketing inside fitting rooms to spread the message of body positivity.
In a survey examining 25 multi-brand retailers conducted by retail analytics firm, Edited, it is stated that “Only 2.3% of women’s apparel were reported plus-sized.” The segregation of petite and plus sizes in major retail stores shows the slow progression of change in the fashion industry. A limited selection of sizes is not the only issue we face today. The is is also an overwhelming misrepresentation of what the average person looks like on fashion runways, in magazines, and in marketing campaigns.
As a consumer, I frequently face issues in regards to finding clothing that properly fits me off the rack, meaning without any tailoring. Specifically for me, I have a hard time finding pants that fit both my curves and my shorter stature. Since I work at a major retail store, my job is to help people find clothing items that help them feel confident, but it is oftentimes difficult to assist when there aren’t many options or clothing items that are made to their size. According to a study published in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and Education revealed, "The average size of an American woman is now between 16 to 18, which is an increase from 10-year-old data that indicated most women in the U.S. were a size 14.” This implies that research is important for brands to understand as the market is constantly shifting.
I attended a public panel discussion hosted by the Chicago Fashion Incubator earlier this year. It was an eye-opening learning experience for me, as the discussion included many unexpected considerations in the world of inclusive fashion. The expert panelists included Chicago-based fashion designers, and fashion influencers: Robin Harris, Shannelle Armstrong-Fowler, Natalie Craig, Sky Cubacub, and Gibeon Tolbert. Each of them provided their advice and expertise on target markets that are underrepresented in the industry. I initially thought that size-inclusivity was about including petite and plus-sized women. However, this panel discussion helped me learn and understand that inclusivity goes far beyond that limited spectrum and also includes people with disabilities, tall and short customers, menswear and custom tailored customers, transgender customers, and people who are “petite-plus”. I also became aware that it is vital to the success of a fashion brand to incorporate feedback from, and hire people from, these target markets. Doing so helps fashion brands and designers better understand their customer’s wants and needs, and implement ways to innovate their designs.
Sky Cubacub, the owner of Rebirth Garments, shared that they interview their clients before creating all garments. They work closely with people who are queer, transgender, plus-size, and disabled. They ask them questions such as, “What parts of their body do they want to highlight?” “What parts do they feel vulnerable about?” and “What do they want to have represented as their gender identity?” Shannelle Armstrong-Fowler, the founder of Haute & Co Bridal, works closely with plus-size brides and shares that in bridal wear the focus is on the fit and not the size. She also shared that bridal wear is never available for ready-to-wear, and is instead pushing ways to make it focused on construction and fit through alterations. Natalie Craig, the creator of NatalieintheCity.com, touched on ways to embrace your personal style by ditching the word “flattering” and instead dressing for comfort and challenging yourself to try things out of your comfort zone. Robin Harriss, the CEO and Creative Director of Model Atelier, also touched on this topic of size-inclusivity by stating that she helps women who are part of a tall-size space by making her clothing line focused on body types such as “tall and athletic”, “tall and curvy”, and “tall and broad.” Gibeon Tolbert, designer for his line Sittar, mentioned that when he first started designing for professional athletes there was a lack of options for formal wear, but now there is a lot more competition since clothing items are being tailored to each athlete. He tackles this by being “ahead of the curve” and designing before a request is made. Although this panel discussion was focused on size-inclusivity it also touched on topics and problems in the fashion industry such as sustainability and the lack of resources available for POC.
Several Chicago Fashion Incubator (CFI) Designers-In-Residence and alumni have also incorporated an array of sizes to their fashion lines, and have made it a priority to expand their offerings to consumers outside of the “standard size” spectrum. Those designers include, Dottie’s Delights, Wulfka, Ms. Amy Taylor, Mignonette Bridal, and Goli June. Each of these brands focuses on embracing the everyday woman by creating clothing that is inclusive and fashion-forward.
Dottie’s Delights is a high-end lingerie brand that strives to support female curves and focuses on attractive design, fit, and function with techniques found in mid-century vintage foundations. Wulfka provides ready-to-wear fashion pieces that are both comfortable and fashionable with extended sizes up to 4X. Ms. Amy Taylor creates undergarments that are cut, bound, dyed, and sewn by hand to comfortably fit a variety of shapes and sizes and are made with Tencel to help you feel comfortable, confident, and beautiful in your body. Mignonette Bridal focuses on romantic, timeless designs that are made of high quality for brides who want to write their own stories while providing a wide variety of styles that are altered to fit your body. Their sister-business, Ette, is a custom wedding tailoring shop located in Chicago’s Roscoe Village Neighborhood.
Goli June, the bridal brand founded by CFI designer-in-residence Goli Parvinian, focuses on modern, wearable bridal wear that is diverse to a variety of sizes, shapes, and gender identities with an emphasis on attention to detail. I recently interviewed Goli to ask her about her experience and expertise working with an array of women’s sizes and what initially interested her in starting her fashion brand with inclusivity in mind. She stated, “I [became] interested in creating an array of women's sizes after working for a designer in New York. The brand only offered standard sizes but we saw a lot of clients come in seeking gowns who were of varying sizes. We used to create a lot of custom pieces for them, and I realized that if I ever started a brand I wanted them to feel represented in both the marketing and size offering. In other workplaces, there were 'plus-size fees' applied to customers’ orders if they fell outside of the standard size chart. That didn't read as inclusive to me and was an antiquated system I thought needed to change.” I also asked Goli how she helps her clients embrace themselves when they are shopping for bridal wear. She stated, “I try to always create an environment where brides can feel relaxed and at ease trying [on] gowns. This means it is a private space, where no strangers are walking by or peering into the appointment. I also remind them that we can't have every size hanging on the racks, but to give themselves a little bit of grace and use their best imagination when trying on samples. In the past, I have made extended size samples for plus size brides to try, which we have the capability to do as we're still a small brand and really want to highlight our mission of inclusivity.”
Overall, learning and understanding the importance of size-inclusivity has made me more aware of the perspective of other consumers. Although the fashion industry progresses at a slow rate, it’s vital that brands are inclusive to many shapes, sizes, and abilities for the inclusion of new target markets and for the future of fashion.
Sources:
https://www.racked.com/2018/6/5/17380662/size-numbers-average-woman-plus-market
https://www.byrdie.com/average-body-weight
https://www.facebook.com/84393230039/videos/487996235421215
Designers Websites:
https://dottiesdelights.com/pages/about