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Vishal Khairnar
इस खबर को सुनने के लिये प्ले बटन को दबाएं।
After a brief moment of celebration for body inclusivity, fashion’s pendulum appears to have swung back to its old comfort zone — thinness.
According to a Vogue Business size inclusivity report released this week, 97.1% of the 9,038 looks featured at the Spring/Summer 2026 Fashion Weeks across New York, London, Milan, and Paris were modeled by women with very small body types (US 0–4, UK 4–8, France 32–36). Only 2% of models represented “regular” sizes, while a mere 0.9% were plus-size (US 14+, UK 18+, France 44+).
For many, the data only confirms what was already visible on the runways — that the body-positive momentum of recent years is rapidly fading.
“There are fewer and fewer plus-size models on the runways,” says Aude Perceval, booker at France’s Plus Agency. “The trend is particularly pronounced in Paris.”
Despite the return of hourglass silhouettes, corsets, and draped styles that seem to celebrate curves, many designers still favor thin models — sometimes even adding padding to mimic shape rather than showcasing actual body diversity.
‘A Regression in Representation’
Model Doralyse Brumain, who wears a French 40–42, shared that since 2022, there has been “a real regression — both in the frequency of contracts and in fees.”
The decline marks a sharp reversal from the progress sparked by the body-positive movement of the 2010s, which promoted diversity and challenged the “heroin chic” aesthetic that dominated the 1990s.
“There’s this false idea that being thin means being chic, being rich,” says French casting director Esther Boiteux.
That very aesthetic — once embodied by icons like Kate Moss — is now creeping back, bolstered by social media trends and celebrity endorsements.
The Ozempic Effect & Industry Constraints
The rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, originally meant for diabetes treatment, has also influenced the cultural conversation around body image.
“It’s changing how we think about our bodies,” Chioma Nnadi, Editor of British Vogue, told the BBC, noting that many celebrities have turned to the drug to maintain extreme thinness.
Compounding the issue is fashion’s long-standing production model. Sample clothes for runway presentations are typically made in one “standard” size — that of thin models. Adapting designs for different body types requires extra time, cost, and planning, something few brands are willing to accommodate.
‘An Unattainable Ideal’
Model rights advocate Ekaterina Ozhiganova, founder of Model Law, emphasizes that while consumers increasingly support body diversity, the industry itself resists change.
“For inclusivity to become sustainable, there must be a profound shift in production,” she says. “The industry still sells an unattainable ideal.”
French designer Jeanne Friot echoes that sentiment:
“Fashion shows should be a space where everyone can see themselves — larger sizes, older people, all ethnicities, all genders.”
But for now, spotting a “regular-sized” woman on the catwalk feels rarer than ever.
Fashion journalist Sophie Fontanel summed it up bluntly after attending Givenchy’s Paris show this October:
“We have to speak out when fashion messes up and establishes a standard it should have left behind.”
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