Post–New York Fashion Week, the message couldn’t be more clear: the industry still doesn’t know what to do with bigger bodies. For all the panels, pledges, and campaigns, plus size representation remains painfully rare in the places that matter most.
We’ve been marching, hashtags blazing, TikToks trending and yet, the runway still acts like inclusion is a trend, not a given. Why does seeing a bigger body in high fashion still feel like a revolutionary moment instead of a regular occurrence?
Let’s talk about it… honestly, unapologetically, and with receipts.
Fashion Week: When the Math Doesn’t Math
The Spring/Summer 2025 runways featured 8,763 looks across 208 shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. Out of all that fashion? Just 0.8% were plus size (US 14+). Only 4.3% were mid-size (US 6–12). The rest? 94.9% were straight size (US 0–4).
Let that sink in.
This isn’t just a slow crawl toward inclusion, it’s a backslide. During Spring/Summer 2020, we saw 86 plus size models walk major runways. It was a breakthrough moment. But by 2025? We’re back to the shadows.
It’s not just disappointing… it’s revealing. Fashion’s gatekeepers are telling us exactly who they value. And spoiler: it’s not us.
Meanwhile, the Money Is Loud
Here’s the kicker: the plus size fashion market is booming. It was valued at $119.4 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to $202.4 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 5.5%.
Women account for nearly half that market, and we’re not talking about passive shoppers. This growth is being driven by bold, vocal, and empowered consumers demanding style that reflects them.
And still… the biggest stages in fashion act like those dollars don’t exist.
It’s the wildest contradiction: fashion says it wants innovation, influence, and impact but ignores the literal billions being generated by the plus size representation it refuses to normalize.
The Real Runway? Social Media.
If you’re waiting for the industry to catch up, don’t hold your breath. The real representation? It’s happening online.
On Instagram, TikTok, and Threads, plus size influencers are rewriting the rules. They’re building loyal communities, launching collections, selling out product drops, and showing the beauty of bigger bodies in every scroll-worthy fit check.
Take Ashley Graham. With over 20 million Instagram followers, she’s not just a model she’s a media force. And she’s far from alone. Across platforms, creators are proving that plus size representation isn’t niche… it’s necessary.
And guess what? It’s not the perfectly retouched magazine spreads that move the needle, it’s authenticity. It’s visibility. It’s real people in real bodies making real impact.
Representation Is About Mental Health, Too
This is bigger than the runway. This is about well-being.
Studies show that over 50% of adults in the US, UK, Australia, France, and Germany report experiencing weight stigma. That stigma contributes to anxiety, disordered eating, depression, and low self-worth.
But body positivity and size-inclusive content? It helps. It protects. It offers community and coping.
Young adults, especially young women, don’t follow body positive creators because they already feel great. They follow because they’re trying to feel okay in a world that constantly tells them they shouldn’t.
Representation isn’t decoration. It’s survival.
The Shift Toward Body Neutrality
Still, let’s be real… body positivity has its critics. Especially on TikTok, where the conversation is shifting toward body neutrality.
While some content tagged as “body positive” still centers aesthetic validation, body neutrality says: you don’t have to love your body to respect it. You don’t have to perform confidence to deserve clothing that fits.
It’s a subtler, but powerful, evolution, especially for those navigating multiple layers of stigma or exhaustion.
Let’s Talk Intersectionality
It’s not just about size, it’s about who gets seen within size inclusion. Because let’s be honest: not all bigger bodies are celebrated equally.
A size 16 white model with an hourglass figure gets booked far more often than a size 22 Black woman with natural hair. That’s not an accident; it’s intersectionality in action.
Coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality is about understanding how race, gender, sexuality, ability, and body size overlap to shape visibility and opportunity.
Representation that ignores those intersections just reinforces the same power dynamics it claims to challenge.
But Wait! Retail Is (Kind of) Getting It Right, Right?
While the runway fumbles, retail is seeing the light.
Brands like Universal Standard, ASOS, H&M, Target, and Savage X Fenty are expanding their size ranges and putting their marketing dollars behind diverse casting.
Is it perfect? Not even close. But it’s a sign.
Some agencies are opening plus divisions. Some fashion schools are teaching inclusive design. Curve models are finally getting contracts that last longer than a season.
It’s happening… but slowly. We really need more sustained commitment, not seasonal stunts.
Why It Still Feels Revolutionary
When someone in a bigger body steps onto a runway, it still stops us in our tracks. And that tells you everything.
It’s still revolutionary because it’s still rare. Because it’s still met with resistance, with trolling, with corporate backpedaling.
When inclusion is treated like a trend, it will always feel like a fight.
But here’s what’s different in 2025: we’re no longer asking for permission to be seen. We’re building the platforms, creating the content, launching the brands, and making the money that proves this isn’t about being included, it’s about taking up space, on our own terms.
What’s Next?
Ready to turn the revolution into a reality? Here’s where to start:
1. Demand more than tokenism.
Look at the full picture. Are brands walking the walk across sizing, fit, casting, and campaign storytelling?
2. Support those doing it right.
Spend where your values are. Share the creators and brands pushing the culture forward.
3. Push fashion week forward.
Designers, stylists, editors… we see you. Do better. Normalize inclusion like the industry depends on it (because it does).
4. Build your own runway.
Whether you’re creating content, launching a brand, or just showing up every day in your body, remember, you ARE the moment.
5. Keep the conversation going.
Tag, repost, comment, and celebrate the wins. Call out the gaps. Community keeps the movement alive.
Plus size representation still feels revolutionary because it is. But the goal isn’t to stay in revolution mode forever. The goal is evolution, to the point where diverse bodies aren’t “brave,” they’re just there.
Until then? Every runway stomp, every mirror selfie, every viral TikTok from a size 24 baddie is a bold reminder:
We are the standard.
We’re not going away.
And the future of fashion will include us, or it won’t be the future at all.
