Concerns Over Declining Size Inclusivity in Fashion Industry

 

Fashion experts are raising alarms that the strides made toward size inclusivity are slipping away, as thinner models once again dominate the catwalks. According to Vogue Business' spring/summer 2025 size inclusivity report, released Tuesday, the industry is witnessing a "worrying return to using extremely thin models" and a stagnation in efforts to include diverse body types across major fashion capitals like New York, London, Milan, and Paris.

The report revealed that of the 8,763 looks showcased at 208 womenswear shows earlier this month, 94.9% were modeled by straight-size models, typically ranging between a US size 0-4 (UK size 4-8). Only 0.8% of the models were plus-size (UK size 18+), while 4.3% fell into the mid-size range (UK size 10-16). Milan stood out for its overwhelming preference for straight-size models, with 98% of looks presented by them.

"It feels like we’ve taken 10 steps backwards," said Anna Shillinglaw, founder of the model agency Milk Management, expressing frustration at the industry's current trajectory.

While fashion runways have long favored thin models, recent years saw a growing presence of more diverse body types. Notably, in 2000, Jill Kortleve made headlines at Chanel as the first model above a UK size 8 to walk the runway in over a decade. Inclusive casting took another step forward when British Vogue featured Kortleve alongside plus-size models Paloma Elsesser and Precious Lee on its April 2023 cover under the headline “The New Supers.”

However, just 18 months later, insiders observe a shift away from body diversity. "It now feels like some higher-end designers saw curvier women as a trend, rather than reflecting real life," Shillinglaw noted, adding that the average dress size in the UK is 16.

Although brands like Chanel incorporated mid-size and plus-size models this season, most major luxury labels did not. Instead, emerging designers such as Karoline Vitto in London and Ester Manas in Paris have taken the lead in promoting body diversity.

Casting director Chloe Rosolek finds the exclusion of larger models by top brands perplexing. "It’s so strange to just pretend that a whole group of people don’t exist," she said.

The industry’s renewed emphasis on thinness may also be influenced by the rising use of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, originally designed for diabetes treatment but now popular in Hollywood for shedding pounds. Vogue Business described this trend as the "glamorization of thinness," with pressure mounting on straight-size models to either maintain or further reduce their measurements.

The growing emphasis on thinness has impacted even the industry's regulations. In 2017, luxury giants Kering (parent company of Gucci and Balenciaga) and LVMH (owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior) committed to a charter banning size zero and under-16 models. While Kering raised the minimum age for models to 18 in 2019, LVMH has not followed suit. This season in Milan, 16-year-old Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, daughter of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, opened the Miu Miu show. Several top-ranked models under 21 and size zero also dominated the runways, according to fashion platform Models.com.

For many models, the pressure to fit extreme thinness standards is overwhelming. Emily McGrail, a 21-year-old model from Manchester, recently shared her experience on TikTok after being advised to lose a centimeter from her hips while attending castings for shows like Prada in Milan. Despite being technically underweight for her age and height, she felt "big" in comparison to other models.

Former casting director James Scully remarked, "We’ve gone back to the way things were 10 years ago. These models are just serving a purpose, not bringing any character or joy to the runway. They’re back to being clothes hangers."

The fashion industry's apparent regression has sparked renewed concerns about unrealistic beauty standards and the exclusion of diverse body types.