He created quite a stir because the runway is usually reserved for waif-thin models. “Hiring healthier women to represent his clothing line is absolutely amazing,” said Renn of Fast’s decision to use women of different shapes. “He seems to be on a mission to eliminate not only the size-0 model stigma, but also the issue of age.”
Thankfully, Fast isn’t the only one breaking the fashion industry mould– Jean Paul Gautier famously used Crystal Renn in one of his catwalk shows in 2005 – but most designers are certainly taking a ‘crawl, walk, run’ approach.
Kate Smith, a size 16 model and the highest earner at Hughes Models in the US, said: "The number of plus-size models in the industry has quadrupled in the past few years, but we're still a tiny percentage of the whole modelling business.”
This fact is mind-boggling considering the average Australia woman is now a size 16, according to the most recent national sizing surveys. The body image debate has raged in Australia over the last few years with everyone from model Jennifer Hawkins to Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard getting involved but it seems we still have quite a way to go before fashion reflects society.
Everyone will be watching with baited breath to see what the Australian designers decide do at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in May this year.
So what do you think? Should more designers use models of varying shapes and sizes on the runway?
Style blogger, Garance Dore, whose blog Une Fille Comme Moi (A Girl Like Me) attracts 50,000 hits a day, recently said: "It should not be such a big deal to show women with different bodies, but sometimes it's treated like a bit of joke, or for shock, like the plus-size models on the runway in the UK fashion week."
What do you think?