‘Average’ Crystal Renn On the Runway at Zac Posen: Refreshing, to Say the Least
-the best article about plus size fashion!!!!!!!
by Casey Prusher from The Quad
Crystal Renn’s Chanel Ad
Being both a size-10 girl and fashion news consumer has its ups and downs. I’ve read endless pieces in Vogue on how to dress my body type, though I always seem to be haphazardly classified into the “curvy” category without regard to the fact that “curvy” may not be the only alternative body type to “waif.” I’ve seen the obligatory plus-size contestant on each season of America’s Next Top Model, championed for her uniqueness, yet standing beside the standard-size model being criticized for not fitting into that size-2 dress. I even witnessed Jean Paul Gaultier’s now infamous Spring 2006 show which, in a grandiose response to Spain’s ban on anorexic models, used a morbidly obese model in unflattering lingerie (and keep in mind, Gaultier had never dressed a plus sized model previous to the show or made his designs available in anything above an 8). Nearly every attempt made by the fashion world to address the mounting criticisms of an unhealthy body ideal has left me with a bad taste in my mouth – all efforts have felt compulsory, perhaps made only to appease those who scrutinize. After all, who could rail against Vogue when they have a magazine to wave in defense? “See, we included a plus size girl that one time!”
I was relieved, however, when I saw that Crystal Renn had walked in the Zac Posen’s “Z Spoke” show during this year’s ongoing New York Fashion Week. While Renn has clearly lost some weight, looking about a size 6 or an 8, her appearance struck a chord somewhere in me. I saw averageness, beautiful averageness. Her performance was not a statement nor an overt patronization of the plus-size consumer; rather, Renn walked the show just like any other model. In fact, she blended so well with the others in the show that her weight was merely an afterthought. And in my opinion, that’s what it should be.
Society’s body standard isn’t altered when designers erratically employ plus-size models in order to get attention. The more dramatic the presentation, the more disillusioned one feels when the industry immediately reverts to using size-0’s. In other words, the more the designer strives to make a “statement,” the more it just looks like theater. It’s when the transition is seamless – when the plus-size model is just another girl wearing clothes, rather than the main attraction – that a healthy body image is truly being embraced. The fashion industry should take cues from people like Crystal Renn and now designers like Zac Posen; they’re doing more for us average-sized girls in fashion than any half-hearted magazine article ever did.
