In 2020, Dutch model Jill Cortreb was the story of Couture’s biggest designer house.
Jill Cortreb walks the Chanel runway in Paris in Spring/Summer 2021. (Reuters: Benoit Tessier))
“It’s not your size that fits the brand,” she told British Vogue, fresh from the runways at Chanel, Valentino, Versace and Fendi.
For the latter two, the “plus size” model (actually Kortleve says she is AU 10-12 (AU 10-12) and has become the first foray into a brand other than sample size.
Kortleve said he was determined to see more inclusive Catwalks. The industry seemed to agree with her.
But now, just five years later, under 1% of the models at the recent fall/winter 2025 show were plus sizes.
It’s a worrying trajectory that’s far from inclusiveness, and some fear that they’ll return to an industry that’s only suitable for ultra thin.
Less than 1% of the model
Of the 8,703 looks and presentations presented in 198 shows and presentations in four different cities, only 0.3% were plus sized, according to the latest Vogue Business Size Inclusivity Report.
In this report, plus size is defined as Au 18+.
On the other hand, only 2% of medium sized models were expressed.
Both represent a decline since last season. Here we see the plus size model making up 0.8% of the time and 4.3% of the runway, showing a medium sized appearance.
The average Australian woman wears sizes 14-16.
Another analysis from Glamour Magazine shows only 26 plus-size models seen during London Fashion Week throughout the AW25 season.
The UK Week is the most comprehensive of the Big Four (London, New York, Paris, Milan).
In contrast, according to Vogue Business, Milan did not have a plus-size model for any of the AW25 shows.
Grammar data emphasizes that it doesn’t always have been this.
Just three seasons ago, London was reporting a total of 85 plus-size models at the show.
In the same year, the plus size model Paloma Elsesser won the annual model of the British Fashion Council.
“Small and small” and shrink inclusiveness
Australian model and content creator Shauna Ryan says he remembers the power and possibilities of Rihanna’s filmed Savage x Fenty runway, which ran from 2019 to 2022.
The singer and business mogul are well known for casting a variety of models with the goal of becoming “more inclusive every year.”
“I sit there crying with my roommate, looking at someone who looked like me, not only wearing a head-to-toe dress, but also in lingerie,” says Shauna.
Rihanna’s savage x fenty shows flaunted models of all sizes, races and genders. (Reuters: Jenna Moon))
Since then, she has been exhausted to see “expression gets smaller and smaller.”
Prior to Australia’s Fashion Week in May, Shauna says there were only four designers producing size 20.
Others only accommodate sizes up to 10 or 12, she adds.
“The trends teach us that small bodies deserve to be celebrated and that they deserve to be seen.
“It sends conscious or subconscious messages. I have an unwanted body. I have a non-fashionable body.
“The body should not be obsessed with fashion trends.“
Shauna Ryan wants inclusiveness to be seen as more than a fashion trend. (Supply: Shauna Ryan ))
That runway representation is often against how the brand wants to appear on social media, Shauna notes, and many people are looking for a model from her.
“I say there’s such an amputation,” she says.
“People who make decisions about marketing know that diversity is needed, but the people who design these brands aren’t actually making those allowances.”
Annika Neilsen questioned the creative decision-making of non-comprehensive designers. (Supply: Annika Neilsen ))
A fellow content creator and curved model Annican Nielsen recalls a similar experience last year when her friend became the face of Australia’s leading fashion week, but walked the almost physical runway.
I’ve started to question where it came from in my creative pipeline.
“Who is making the decision to eliminate people?” she asks.
“It’s a unique exclusion, as it’s not even included for now.“
A runway model during AW25 New York Fashion Week. (Reuters: David “Die” Delgado))
Your feed fashion for you
Determined by an exclusive minority, the trend was created via GRWMS (prepared with me) and the microtrends of the mob wife.
Recently, in Tiktok, various influencers have been drawn to AI filters and can see what they look like when users are fat.
Meanwhile, Vogue uploaded a homage to YouTube and Socials’ Hairspray starring model Gigi Hadid in the infamous plus-size role.
Sydney-based author Rebecca Shaw labeled the trend as “not only disappointing” and “really bad signs.”
“The fact that fat people exist in the world and that we are OK with being present seems to be acknowledging that we are back to nil,” she wrote for the Guardian.
Shauna was also left with distrust due to the filming.
“You’re going to make an entire video about plus-size icons and don’t include a single plus-size person in the cast?”
Both incidents show the demographic transition of couture from shiny pages to those who own phones.
“I have a big understanding of fashion, but historically very enthusiastic, but we are now in a history that is not exclusive,” explains Shauna.
“And there is a difference between aspiration and exclusivity.“
The clinical psychologist and manager of the Butterfly Foundation’s National Helpline Saracox says social media is increasingly concerning for those experiencing physical dissatisfaction.
Data released by the foundation in February estimates that over 15 Australians have been heavily affected by physical dissatisfaction over the past 12 months.
It is estimated that more than 1.1 million people have an eating disorder.
“Social media doesn’t just lead to eating disorders, but there’s a lot of extremely harmful content on top of it,” Cox says.
“It allows you to compare yourself to what you really see people, feel inadequate and feel pressured to change your body, and make you realize you’re attractive, successful, or valuable.”
Drugs that are “small” and fueled
Many critics point to 2021 when identifying what prompted Ultra’s thin revival.
In June of that year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy (Semaglutide) injections for use in chronic weight management plans.
Semaglutide may be well known by its other brand name, Ozempic.
Hillary Taymour, founder of designer label Collina Strada, denounced the drug and its alternatives only.
“Everyone is using it. It’s a drug that created a thinner industry, a new trend where skinny and skinny is better,” she told The New York Times.
Shauna believes Ozempic is burning the story of “Lower is better regardless of cost.”
Talking her own experiences with drug-considering her, content creators likened it to the revival of trendy diet and weight loss pills of the 90s and 00s.
“If someone like me who devotes much of my life to a valuable idea had a moment of ‘maybe I should’ve done’, I can’t imagine people who are challenging their worth,” she says.
Some fear that the reappearance of the 00S trends, such as the Alexander McQueen Skull Prints seen at Paris Fashion Week, is what some fear is a revival of the era in other ways.
(Getty: Giovanni Giannoni/WWD/Jean Baptiste Lacroix))
She fears that its accessibility and illusions of celebrity use are spurring others to shape their bodies into “anything that’s fashion.”
“Fashion is fashion, but when people start to internalize it and downplay their existence based on what they see, it’s very harmful,” she adds.
“These are concrete decisions that big companies are making on purpose and they are profiting from it.”
Cox says the Butterfly Foundation field is calling for people recovering from eating disorders that they feel are caused by Ozempic’s portrayal in the media.
“They are often touted as quick and easy fixes, which are clearly very appealing to someone who is at risk of eating disorders or may already have an eating disorder,” she says.
She also says there are medical concerns about whether weight loss medication ratings like Ozempic are thorough enough to screen for eating disorders.
Anika says she understands that in the face of stigma, plus-sized people see Ozempic as an option.
“There are only so many you can take, there are so many photos you can see,” Annika says.
“It’s so many times that it just makes you sick to the point that you can be abused by people for your weight.”
The Butterfly Foundation estimates that over 3.1 million Australians have experienced appearance-based discrimination over the past 12 months, including weight-based discrimination.
Need for top-down change
For Shauna, it’s enough to feel like the “boat is sinking” and there’s not enough voice speaking. “Before it all capsules.”
Voices that include people with straight-sized bodies.
“If you have plus-size friends, tap with them to see what their life experience is and engage in conversation,” she says.
“Just because it doesn’t include you doesn’t mean you don’t have to be part of the conversation.”
Designer Christian Sigliano is told as one of the few designers who consistently show a diverse range of models. (Reuters: Shannon Stapleton))
Annika wants things to change at the top – and she’s tired of waiting.
“There are so many brands that just choke it out because we’re working on it. I dm-ed you five years ago, and you’re still working on it,” she says.
“We are promoting gender equality in leadership because policies for women should not be made without women and the same thing that I think applies to fashion.
“If you want a truly inclusive industry, you need a more diverse voice, not only modeling the results, but also shaking from above.“
