Plus-size model

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plus-size model is the term internationally applied to a female who models clothing for consumers wearing a dress size 12 or higher in North American sizing, 10 or higher in Australian sizing, size 40 or higher in Europe, and 12 or higher in UK sizing. The requirements for plus-size models are no different from those of high-fashion models, excepting in bust-waist-hip measurements; they must have excellent skin and teeth, and emote well on camera. The type of work that plus-size models engage in is also no different from that of their counterparts. Advertising campaigns, catwalk work, live-TV work and infomercials, editorials, etc. comprise the variety of work available.

The business of modeling plus-size clothing is growing, with agency divisions being created to specifically locate and develop potential models to serve the demand. Well-known high fashion designers are also starting to look more closely at the earning potential from serving consumers wearing plus-size clothing with prêt-à-porter, and have started booking plus-size models for their advertising campaigns and catwalks. Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano both used plus-size models in their Spring 2006 showings in Paris. Italian plus-size fashion house Elena Mirò now regularly stages a prêt-à-porter show during Fashion Week in Milan.

Contents 1 History of plus-size modeling 1.1 The first plus-size client? 1.2 Initial growth in North America 1.3 Setbacks 1.4 State of the North American industry today 2 Notable plus-size models, North America 3 Notable plus-size models, other regions 4 Plus-size celebrities 5 A return to classical ideals of beauty?

[edit] History of plus-size modeling

As the development of the industry is closely tied to Western population change and clothing industry growth, the plus-size model industry has grown in fairly equal strides at various points on the globe.

Arguably the most important region of growth has been within North America, where a diverse population and a flourishing media industry has created a unique culture around plus-size modeling, and enabled the ongoing operation of approximately 25+ agencies either specifically representing plus-size models or with divisions to do so. The industry at an international level also includes several well-established agencies in England, Germany and Australia, collectively serving clients throughout Western and Central Europe, South Africa, and the South Pacific and Asian regions. Plus-size models have been serving the strong German client market for over 15 years.

[edit] The first plus-size client?

Lane Bryant is widely acknowledged to have been the first large-scale producer of plus-size clothing in North America and therefore user of plus-size models. It began trading in the early 1920s as a producer of clothing for 'Expectant Mothers and Newborns'. By the mid-1920s, Lane Bryant started selling clothing under the category 'For the Stout Women', which ranged between a 38-56 inch bustline. The earliest catalogs used illustrations only to sell their products, but by the mid-1940s photographs were integrated into the catalogs as the evolution of photo technology made this option available. After a brief hiatus from using larger models through the 1960-1970 period, Lane Bryant again began using plus-size models and today remains one of the plus-size model industry's most prestigious and desired clients.

[edit] Initial growth in North America

Although it is known that clients such as Lane Bryant used models to show their plus-size clothing as early as the 1940s, the bias against larger consumers and models pervasive in the fashion industry worked to keep this particular concept of modeling out of the general public's eye until the early 1990s.

Karin Models agent Gary Dakin headed its Curves division, only to leave after a short time to develop the Ford agency's Ford 12+ model division in their New York office. In Constantine Valhouli's 2001 plus-size model documentary Curve, Dakin states, "We're celebrating our 25th anniverary of the Ford 12+ division. It was the first and longest-existing plus division in the industry."(sic) Wilhelmina NYC agent Susan Georget started the Wilhelmina 10/20 division in New York 1994. Together, these agents have recruited the highest calibre of models in the industry and are credited with expanding opportunities for plus-size models beyond working solely for plus-size clothing retailers. Both agents are also regarded as holding the most power in the plus-size model industry, although Georget and Dakin have now removed themselves from day-to-day booking tasks.

With strong cooperation from Wilhelmina 10/20, Curves and Ford 12+, the premiere issue of Mode magazine was launched in the spring of 1997 to immediate success. No other fashion magazine specifically targeted the plus-size consumer with a Vogue-like fashion philosophy, nor with sophisticated imagery and clothing everyone wanted to buy. As a result, a booking with the magazine was viewed as the ultimate level of plus-modeling success. Mode's practice of including the models' names and quotations on self-esteem to make them more approachable greatly aided the popularity of the women featured and gave them a form of celebrity. Mode also ran model search competitions in association with the Wilhelmina modelling agency, drawing entries from thousands of hopefuls from the US and Canada. The circulation of Mode magazine was around 600,000 at the time of its demise in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001.

In 1995, Lane Bryant began a transformation of the brand, targeting younger customers with more fashion-forward clothing. Through a series of runway shows and celebrity spokespersons including Queen Latifah, Mia Tyler, Camryn Manheim, Anna Nicole Smith, and Sex in the City's Chris Noth, Lane Bryant became the industry leader in their approach to marketing and advertising.

In February 2000, Lane Bryant launched Cacique intimate apparel, and held the first lingerie fashion show for plus-size women. The event was widely acclaimed and created millions of impressions in the press. In 2002, more than 200 million people worldwide watched website playback of the Lane Bryant fashion show featuring 70s rock band KISS. In 2003, the fashion show featured MC Roseanne Barr in a cabaret setting complete with Moulin Rouge-style singers and dancers, which Barr later described as being largely ignored by TV media, despite a well-publicized online petition to US television network CBS signed by over 10,000 people demanding that the show be aired.

[edit] Setbacks

Occuring shortly before the time of Mode's closure was the failure of several designer's ventures to create extended size ranges of their clothing lines. Versace (Versatile), Valentino (Carisma), Anne Klein Plus, and others ceased producing the clothing which Mode Magazine relied upon, leaving a gaping hole in both the fashion department wardrobes and advertising revenue coffers of Mode Magazine and its successor/s.

After the demise of Mode magazine its then Executive Editor, 'Ceslie Armstrong', and many of the ex-Mode staff collaborated to create Grace magazine, which launched in 2002 under a similar concept but targeting a wider and seemingly older audience. Many of the Mode models were used in Grace to create an appearance of continuity. Even though the initial 300,000 print run sold out quickly, Grace featured far less stylish fashion content than its predecessor and unwisely included an overemphasis on weight-related health issues and advertising of diet products, alienating an audience adapted to Mode's "Love Your Body" message. Grace magazine ceased operation in 2003.

Lane Bryant was acquired by Charming Shoppes for $335 million in August 2001, and in 2003 announced a cost-reduction plan, which sought to improve the company's pre-tax position by $45 million. Shortly afterwards, the annual big-budget Lane Bryant fashion show ceased production, however the redress was to come later in the form of Charming Shoppes' magazine title Figure, which is currently the only US-based print publication for plus-size consumers.

[edit] State of the North American industry today

While the internet has provided a breeding ground for a large number of grassroot e-zines, model agencies, online retailers and other associated ventures, the lack of a plus-size-fashion print publication in North America has added a visible element to a seeming stagnation in the feeble growth of the North American plus-model industry. With supply of models currently much higher than demand from clients now struggling with reduced advertising budgets, and agencies tightening their belts and tightening the guidelines on beauty and the number of models they represent, a substantial nudge is required for the industry to experience a growth comparable to that which it enjoyed in the late 1990s.

[edit] Notable plus-size models, North America

• Emme (Melissa) Aronson is acknowledged as the first plus-size model to achieve widespread recognition in the United States, due partly to being chosen for a Revlon cosmetics campaign, as well as appearing nude in People magazine in 1997, and appearing on their 50 Most Beautiful People lists in 1994 and 1999.

• Natalie Laughlin was the first plus-size model to have an advertisement feature on a billboard in New York's Times Square, an honor repeated four times by client Liz Claiborne. Laughlin was also the first plus-size model to appear in Glamour magazine.

• Kate Dillon began her modelling career as a size 6, but after overcoming health issues (anorexia) eventually relaunched her career as a size 14 (US) plus-size model. Dillon enjoyed a fast rise to fame via the covers and editorials of Mode magazine, and has since notched up scores of advertising campaigns for top plus-size clothing retailers in the world. Dillon has appeared in several language editions of Vogue magazine, and has been photographed for high fashion magazines and campaigns by such photographers as Patrick Demarchelier, Helmut Newton, Francesco Scavullo, Albert Watson and Mario Testino, and has appeared in advertising for clients well outside of the usual plus-size œuvre such as Gucci, Isabella Rossellini's 'Manifesto' perfume, and Nine West. Dillon was a featured guest during season 3 of the popular US network show America's Next Top Model, talking to contestants about body image and self-esteem.

• Barbara Brickner is one of the most familiar faces in plus-size modeling. Brickner was signed to Wilhelmina by Susan Georget and has worked consistently every year of her career since then, featuring constantly in Mode magazine and producing many of its most enduring images. She has been the face of Italian company Elena Miro for several years, and featured solo in their iconic calendar created in 2000. In 2000, Brickner launched a line of plus-size maternity clothing named BB Maternity that is sold through department stores.

• Jordan Tesfay began her career after winning a Mode magazine model search competition in 1999. Tesfay is the first plus-model since Emme to appear in a nation-wide cosmetics advertising campaign. She appeared in a minor role in the film, Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, released in 2005.

• Crystal Renn is the most recent plus-size model to garner international appeal and has set a new standard for accomplishment. Like Dillon, Renn suffered from anorexia and became a plus-size model after regaining her health, but has notched up some remarkable successes in the few years she has been working at a larger size; an editorial in each of Vogue's US, Italian, French and German editions, covers on Harper's Bazaar, Russia and French magazine, and a much-vaunted appearance on the catwalk of Jean-Paul Gaultier for his Spring 2006 prêt-à-porter collection. Renn was chosen by Dolce & Gabbana to model their apparel in a print campaign, which appeared in Vogue and other magazines around the world. Renn recently appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show to discuss her experiences, and related model health issues.

[edit] Notable plus-size models, other regions

• Johanna Dray is a plus-size model based in Paris. She has been modeling for over seven years and notably appeared in John Galliano's 'Everybody is Beautiful' Spring 2006 prêt-à-porter show and subsequent French Vogue editorial of the collection, wearing what turned out to be Galliano's best-selling dress of the show. Dray has appeared in editorials for Elle France and Gala magazine. She has worked with some of Europe's leading photographers such as Nick Knight and Steve Hiatt, and with prestigious European clients such as Marina Rinaldi and Giani Forte

• Charlotte Coyle was born in Ireland, but found many fans as a plus-size model in the US while working for the clothing company Torrid. Coyle hosted a well-received UK reality TV show in 2006 named Fat Beauty Contest, in which contestants learned the basics of catwalk modeling from Coyle in order to compete in a finale fashion show.

• Katya Zharkova is perhaps Russia's first plus size model. Zharkova lives in Moscow and has appeared in the Russian language editions of 'Cosmopolitan' and 'Elle' magazines and in advertising for Lidia Soselia clothing.

[edit] Plus-size celebrities

Celebrities who wear plus-size clothing have increasingly been attracting endorsement contracts as advertisers seek to extend size-acceptance into the film, TV and music industries, and/or make use of their family or other connections.

• Mia Tyler ~ Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith singer Steve Tyler and Cyrinda Foxe-Tyler and half-sister of actress Liv Tyler, began modeling at age 20 in Seventeen. She was represented by Wilhelmina and booked by companies seeking to associate themselves with her rock'n roll lifestyle and aesthetic. Tyler appeared in Vogue US in its annual "Shape Issue" in 2003.

• Christina Schmidt ~ A unique example of the model/celebrity concept is Canadian actress Christina Schmidt, who appeared in seasons 1-3 of the popular Canadian cable TV series, Degrassi: The Next Generation as a plus-size model. Schmidt gained such popularity among the show's youthful audience that she was tapped to model for plus-size clothing company Torrid and is now represented by the Wilhelmina 10/20 division in New York.

• Mia Amber ~ Amber appeared in a feature role in the 2000 movie Road Trip as 'Rhonda'. Since her appearance in this comic role, Amber has been working as a model in New York and appearing on TV to speak on the issues of being plus-sized, and on self-esteem. Amber recently appeared on the Tyra Banks talk show dealing with the media's response to photographs of Banks in a swimsuit.

• Dana Owens, aka Queen Latifah ~ Oscar^TM-nominated actress and music artist, Dana Owens, aka Queen Latifah currently appears in US advertising for CoverGirl cosmetics alongside plus-size model Jordan Tesfay. Latifah and Tesfay's appearance in this campaign is of particular note, as no plus-size woman has appeared in this form of advertising since Emme appeared in a Revlon cosmetics campaign in the early 1990s. While Latifah is not represented by a model agent, her international celebrity makes her an ideal candidate for plus-size model clients to consider her for their campaigns.

• Jennifer Hudson ~ Hudson is a multi-award winning and Oscar^TM-winning actress and singer who first came to the public's attention while competing in American Idol in 2004. Hudson will make pop-culture history by being the first African-American singer to appear on a cover of US Vogue magazine, for the March 2007 issue.

• Toccara Jones~Toccara Elaine Jones is an American fashion model and fashion personality. She was a contestant on the third cycle of the UPN series America's Next Top Model (ANTM). Toccara was signed by Wilhelmina New York as a plus-size model at the conclusion of the contest.

[edit] A return to classical ideals of beauty?

Some people feel that the advent of plus-size models is a return to the voluptuous Classical ideal of feminine beauty, as defined by sculptures such as the Venus de' Medici and the Winged Victory of Samothrace--i.e., the aesthetic ideal that generally prevailed throughout Western history, until well into the twentieth century. Occasionally this perception is enforced by campaign images that deliberately play upon these comparisons, such as Elena Miro's campaign featuring model Barbara Brickner reprising well-known works of art.