Paloma Elsesser has insisted fashion designers need to learn to create clothes for “all bodies.”
The plus-size model has collaborated on a new collection for Danish fashion brand Ganni — with sizes going up to a U.K. 24 — and she is adamant that the industry needs a major overhaul so designer clothes aren’t aimed solely at smaller sizes.
“A lot of the design afforded to larger mid and plus-size bodies is so limited. It’s isolating. To find the clothes that I want to wear and the ways that I want to express myself, I have to be resourceful. I think that a lot of people in my community want the level of ease that’s, like, I see it, I want it, I go into the shop and I get it,” she told The Sunday Times.
Elsesser went on to insist the inclusion of larger sizes should be a requirement of all fashion brands.
“In the same way that all hairdressers should know how to style all hair — black, white, coarse, kinky, straight. You’re saying you’re a fashion designer? You should know how to design for all bodies,” she added.
The model — who has worked with Nike, Inc., Fenty Beauty and Proenza Schouler and graced the cover of Vogue — stated there is a big market for plus-size clothing, and designers are missing out on the chance to sell their wares to everybody instead of the few.
“Larger sizes are always the first to sell out — I don’t know how much more evidence there needs to be. But what’s important is that there are images of bodies that look like what they’re selling, too. That is a good start,” Elsesser concluded.
