A Wren Says

I am going to admit to you something very quick, which could color your perception just as fast. I have typically been wary of demands that runway shows include more larger sized individuals. In my mind, the runway show was a moving catalogue. I saw the models as just happening to be the form that showed me the clothes. Despite their body sizes, I was able to easily think about what I would like to wear and what would likely look good on me. Besides, it is easier for a designer to have a set size of clothes made for the show and book models who are that size. But in their coverage of the AW 24 season of runway shows, something a designer said made me think differently.

Sinead O’Dowd was the top as far as size inclusivity for the season. She remarked, as quoted by Vogue Business, “It’s about thinking about design solutions and directly taking inspiration from a particular body as opposed to just trying to draw something and stick it on [that body], which is very ego driven.”

An element that I had been missing by focusing on the clothing presented was that perhaps the end user wasn’t really thought about. Designing for the body shape of a model and then just adding a couple inches here and there is the real problem. The problem isn’t just that larger bodies aren’t on the runway, it’s that they possibly aren’t included in the process at all.

When it comes to the goods and services in any industry, you can certainly just come up with an idea on your own and run with it. And even though you were weren’t thinking of them, there will be people who see value in your product and are easily able to adapt it to lifestyle. This would be how I could so easily imagine those collections on me. However, you will create blind spots in your design process if you don’t think of the user. You will miss out on learning about their needs and desires and incorporating those well. It might look good in a presentation, but you will find that it just doesn’t fit right.

As fashion pivots to start talking more about size inclusivity, this really is a good example of a key marketing question. Who are our customers, and how can we better design for them?

For the summary of the Size Inclusivity report I referenced:

Maguire, L. Shoaib, M. & Schulz, M. (March 11, 2024). The Vogue Business AW24 size inclusivity report. Vogue Business. https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/fashion/the-vogue-business-aw24-size-inclusivity-report