Ahead of the curve

Following Mark Fast's bold decision to use size 12-14 models at September's London Fashion Week, and the overwhelming positive response Glamour magazine received when it pictured a woman looking comfortable with her belly roll last year, this month's V magazine champions the fuller figure.


The Size Issue features fashion's top plus-size models in various states of undress - love-handles, back fat and all. But while the focus on healthy-looking women is encouraging, and the models glowingly gorgeous, I can't help but feel that they could have been more flatteringly styled.

The problem lies in the fact that, while the fashion industry may gradually be welcoming curvier models into its midst, the top fashion houses still aren't designing for them. Clothes that are made for skinny girls don't look great on anyone over a size 10.


As a girl with curves myself, I wouldn't wear a cut-out swimsuit, body-con cut-out dress or crop-top. Not because I think I'm fat, but because these styles just don't suit my shape.

So as much as I love these photos - I'm clamouring to get my hands on the print issue - for showing the beauty in healthy, curvy women, I'd love them more if the models were dressed in clothes that compliment their figures - you only need to look at 1950s style for a guide on how to get it right.

Let's hope that, in the future, we see women like this in our magazines on a regular basis, and that's it's not under a gimmicky heading telling us that "it's okay to be curvy" - we know that, thanks, now just let us get on with it in style.

Image credit: Models.com and V Magazine.