Why Did Ultrathin Models Make a Comeback at Fashion Week? (2024)

As Paris Fashion Week came to a close this week — and with it the season in fashion, after almost two months of men’s and women’s wear shows — one controversial industry trend reared its head once again: a lack of size diversity on the runways.

High fashion has long been notorious for fetishizing extreme thinness. The standard size of a runway model is around a U.S. dress size 0 or 2. By contrast, the average dress size worn by American women is a 16, according to widely cited statistics (most from studies published in 2016 or earlier). But in recent years, and particularly in the wake of the pandemic, a wider range of body types had started to be represented in fashion shows and advertising campaigns. Some plus size models — typically, U.S. dress size 12 or higher — including Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser enjoyed flourishing careers, alongside several midsize models — above a size 8 — like Jill Kortleve.

This season, however, no models in those size categories walked in runway shows for most of the high fashion household names, including Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and Moschino. According to data compiled this week by the fashion search engine Tagwalk, the overall number of midsize or plus size models cast in women’s wear shows declined by 24 percent; only 68 brands included one model from either category, compared with 90 brands last season. Furthermore, the list of top-tier luxury brands that included more than one midsize or plus size model was short: Michael Kors, Coach, Dolce&Gabbana, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Chloé and Nina Ricci. Only Chanel cast three. For context, a typical runway show has 50 to 75 looks.

“Despite curve and plus size representation remaining a focus for many younger emerging designers, especially in cities like New York and London, there was a clear and disappointing backslide in casting among the most powerful and high-profile European fashion brands,” said Tagwalk’s chief executive, Alexandra Van Houtte.