Australia's 'Big And Beautiful' Runway Show Sparks Weight Debate (PHOTOS)

The media has been making a sizable effort to embrace curvy models lately.

Its plain to see across the fashion and media worlds. Vogue Italia chose a trio of plus-sized beauties to grace its June cover. V made an entire issue in January devoted to curvier models.

And MTV, known for glorifying the lives of the young and skinny, is set to debut a realty new series about an twenty-something moving to L.A. to pursue fashion -- and unlike Lauren Conrad, she weighs 324 pounds.

But a "Big is Beautiful" runway show at Sydney's Fashion Festival yesterday has critics arguing that the fashion industry's campaign for curves has taken an unhealthy turn in the opposite direction, the Daily Mail reports.

Robyn Lawley (Vogue Australia's first plus-size cover girl) opened the show, looking lovely in an asymmetrical black number. But other models, strutting the catwalk in looks spanning sizes 16 to 24, appeared alarmingly overweight, not simply "curvy."

The Daily Mail quotes Australian journalist Damian Woolbough, who took offense to the choice of models:

"There is a place for women of all sizes in the fashion media, as seen by the positive response to a plus-size shoot with Lawley in this month's Vogue Australia, but obese models send just as irresponsible a message about the need for healthy eating and exercise as models with protruding clavicles and ribcages."

Meanwhile, the National Obesity Forum counters that images of skeletal models do far more damage.

Fortunately, Harper's Bazaar's Edwina McCann was on hand to put things in perspective. She tells the Sydney Morning Herald, "I think the consumer is quite happy to accept the fact that a model, like an Olympic swimmer, is usually an exceptional beauty and doesn't look like the rest of us."

Where do you stand -- is plus-size fashion always a good thing? How big is too big?

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Comments

[smileycherub1]

05:04 PM on 10/03/2011

I am a size 6/8 and have been modeling. I was told I am "plus sized" model, which worried me, but I refuse to lose weight to drop to a size 2. I am glad to see designers embrace a woman's curves instead of frown upon them. A real woman does have curves! However, these women shown in the pictures dont look like anything bigger than a size 10, which isnt big at all! the average woman is a size 12/14.

[Volantiad]

05:14 PM on 08/30/2011

Edwina McCann: "I think the consumer is quite happy to accept the fact that a model, like an Olympic swimmer, is usually an exceptional beauty and doesn't look like the rest of us."

Ummm... sorta. When clothes are designed for models that means that what ends up on the shelves and hangars of ordinary stores, for those of us who are physically plebeian, they don't fit normal, healthy sized people. Even though the clothes for sale may be much larger than those cut for women who don't 'look like the rest of us,' they are proportionately all wrong.

Maybe Ms. McCann's view is outdated. Maybe more of us want to see ordinary women *made* gorgeous with fabulous clothes, hair and makeup. Personally, I'd rather see that.

That's why I like plus sized fashion. It defiantly yells back at Vogue: I'M STILL BEAUTIFUL, IN SPITE OF ALL YOU SAY! (excluding their *one* Italian June, 2011 issue)

However, I can also share the concern that clinically obese people should also probably not be held up as exemplars of beauty since they are also not so healthy, like the more conventional emaciated girls and women in fashion.

Additionally, I think the last time unhealthfully skinny models were really criticized was when 'heroin chic' was in and people wondered if designers weren't putting haute couture on cold bodies. That criticism was a long time coming. This was instantaneous. Balanced? No.

[mamabeverley]

09:45 AM on 08/30/2011

The girl in the black dress is no where near plus sized. The girl in the white is the best. I am a "curvy" girl myself......please tell me why they are putting thse girls in skinny leg jeans? While trendy, must of us would not wear them. And the girl in the purple shirt? Love the outfit, but even some skinny girls cant wear "low-rise" jeans. Better to wear a good pair of 501's with that shirt. Then you avoid the "muffin-top", bisected belly look.

[mollybeejay]

10:07 PM on 08/29/2011

Number 2 and number 3 are the only true plus size women in the bunch. It's a shame when a size 10-12 is considered a plus size in this world.

[Volantiad]

05:22 PM on 08/30/2011

Right, Mollybeejay?

I'm actually cool with the term 'plus sized:' at least these models are being acknowledged as really existing at all, which beats how it has been. I'd like to see a lot more of it!

[mollybeejay]

06:14 PM on 08/30/2011

Thanks Volantiad, I agree with you. it is good to see Plus size models in print. This will also make the designers create better looking clothing for us.

[daniele7ster]

03:12 PM on 08/29/2011

Good for them. Once the money starts rolling in, look for fashion to change its tune and start embracing the beauty of all shapes and sizes.

[Lucky S7even]

01:33 PM on 08/29/2011

plus sized models can look good, but did anyone catch the part about the 324lb pound model? why do we have to go to such extremes in this country to prove a point?

[bathbloom2]

04:26 PM on 08/29/2011

Well, in the article, they mentioned the new MTV series based around the life of a 324lb lady that would like to pursue fashion, but they didn't say she was a model - at least not one yet, I guess. I think that show is going to be not about going to an extreme, but hype. You'd be surprised at how many people will sadly be "entertained" by watching an overweight girl try to do what normal sized or slim girls do. I think it's time to stop focusing on weight ALL the time when it comes to fashion and style. It's 2011 ffs!

[Bonez1]

10:30 AM on 08/29/2011

i always thought that plus size models are women who are curvier not necessarily overweight.

these women are healthy, exercise and eat well but no matter how much they do exercise, they remain curvier...that is their normal body structure.
thus, they look the part of being a model, just like Lawley above.

it is true that some of the models above are not "curvey" but instead appear simply overweight without the benefits of exercise or eating well and being healthy.

being a model is just like any profession, either you have it or you don't.
not just anyone can be a model...they do have to work at being professional whether they are skinny or plus size.

[dil123]

01:12 AM on 08/29/2011

16 to 24 doesn't look all that bad when you are 6 ft. tall. Try being a size 24 when you are just 5 ft. tall. That's what I use to be, and it was all caused by the medication I was taking for my bipolar disorder. Luckilly, I got a different Dr. who put me on some different medication that not only helped my moods but helped me lose weight too. With the help of my new medication I lost over 100 lbs. and I am down to a size 12. Still much too fat, but much much better than before.

[Tanya OaksBrooks]

04:45 PM on 08/30/2011

Good for you! Most people have no idea that medications or other conditions can cause extreme weight gain.

Love your micro bio, btw. "Everybody run...the homecoming queen has got a gun!"

[dbonedig]

12:23 AM on 08/29/2011

The majority of skinny humans are either sick on drugs or both!

[Lucky S7even]

01:32 PM on 08/29/2011

or they eat right and exercise maybe.

[dior12]

03:57 PM on 08/29/2011

Or they have good genes.

Genes account for 40-70% variance in obesity.

For each parent that is normal weight, you have a 7% chance of becoming obese.
For each parent that is obese, you have a 40% chance of also becoming obese.

[KawaiiNoire]

10:29 PM on 08/28/2011

Plus-sized models are awesome :)
But the floral dress was horrendous and the t-shirt outfits did not flatter. But the other outfits were nice. Especially the black dress and the white suit. Werk it!!!!! :)

[Kathleen1]

11:06 PM on 08/28/2011

I agree. Floral outfit was ugly and T-shirts and tight jeans! Really! The white pantsuit and the black dress were nice, but designers need to learn how to dress real women. If a designer were to have t-shrts and jeans in a skinny girl show he would be blasted! Use your imagination! Give us some fashionable options!

[KawaiiNoire]

11:28 PM on 08/28/2011

I agree. But I've come to the conclusion that most designers are not very good. They can't seem to design fashionable clothes for more than one type of woman. I'm pretty sure that's why they stayed with the simple styles. Hopefully this will light a torch of inspiration for some young bloods in the fashion world.

"Ugh, I can do waaay better than this for such curvy vixens!! Where's my sketch book!" ;)

[Inkwriter]

10:03 PM on 08/28/2011

Hooray! Finally, models who look like real women. Gorgeous.

[Lucky S7even]

09:20 PM on 08/28/2011

324lbs? that's probably not something that should be glorified. this goes far beyond politically correct or being "accepting."

[carnivaluv]

10:10 PM on 08/28/2011

People such as yourself make this world a little more difficult to live in.

[Lucky S7even]

02:01 AM on 08/29/2011

we should be promoting 324lb models? that's as bad as promoting anorexia. i support healthy living.

[Lucky S7even]

02:08 AM on 08/29/2011

anyone who really believes that being 324lbs and obese is something that should be celebrated and promoted, suffers from mental disease. it's the same as thinking that being 45lbs is beautiful. they need to see doctors for both their bodies and minds.

[dior12]

04:03 PM on 08/29/2011

I'm inclined to agree with you, but maybe not for the same reasons.

If a woman is 324 lbs, even though we aren't given her height, it's probably safe to assume that she is morbidly obese.

This is definitely not something to be proud of, however, at the same time, when is the next time she will ever be able to run a walkway?

[Lucky S7even]

04:09 PM on 08/29/2011

yes. to me the idea of celebrating obesity just fits into the concept of america that we should avoid. there is a difference between plus sized and 324lbs. celebrating 324lbs is like eating a 3 lb burger and 80 ounce soda for every meal...it's just excessive. i understand the backlash at the idea that skinny models cause body image problems, but do we need to go to extremes to prove a point?

[mad world]

07:27 PM on 08/28/2011

No one should be too big or too small. That's just logic. But people are what they are, and not acknowledging them won't help. It's not the fashion industry's job to pass judgement on what's what.

[rickmarkson]

04:55 PM on 08/28/2011

Small, medium and large, I love em all

[juandiggla]

04:44 PM on 08/28/2011

those ladies are F.I.L.F.S (fatties i'd like to f^&k)