I remember when watching The September Issue, Grace Coddington made a comment about how Anna Wintour knew celebrities were going to be the new style icons, the new magazine cover girls, selling designs on red carpets. Call me crazy but could there be a similar trend rising with plus size models? While celebrities are slaughtered for gaining weight, I can't open a magazine without seeing Crystal Wren these days. For its January issue, V Magazine has embraced the trend which has been gaining momentum for years but found instant notoriety in 2009 due to the overwhelmingly giddy reception to Lizzie Miller, the 21 year old model featured in British Glamour. I know there are lots of fashion size fascits, some are outspoken, others are extremely tight lipped unless they're behind closed doors. But at the end of the day, where there's a gap in the market, there's money to be made. I'll bet that plus size issues are currently some of the best selling magazine issues in years. Everyone wants to see something different.
Size zero standards are being rejected by the average woman who figured out that starving isn't easy when you don't have nutritionists, drug addictions, swelling bank accounts or an Olive Oyl metabolism. The world is changing every day and it is fashion's nature to evolve with it. Whatever one's tastes and opinions are, it is stimulating to see full figures in glossy magazines. While I'm sure National Action Against Obesity founder and extremist Meme Roth would be appalled (saying this kind of thing encourages unhealthy habits) I find it interesting and Crystal Wren hardly promotes obesity. I've always thrilled at different body shapes, imagining how best to style them. In every era beauty standards change and are welcomed by the masses, what will the new decade bring? The bottom line is that everyone is beautiful and they deserve to see a role model that mirrors themselves whether they identify with a Kardashian or a Lisa Ling. Happy 2010!
V Magazine editorial
