Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Plus-size model is a term internationally applied to a woman who is engaged primarily in modeling garments that are designed and marketed specifically for larger body sizes and types (see plus-size clothing). Plus-size clothing is a general term given to Clothing sized specifically for men and women of large build These models are also increasingly engaging in work that is not strictly related to selling clothing, i. e. body acceptance imagery, lifestyle and advertising, beauty/cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, shoes, etc. As such, plus-size models often do not wear garments designed and marketed as plus-size clothing. This is especially true of magazine editorials.

The requirements for plus-size models are no different from those of high-fashion models, excepting in larger overall bust-waist-hip measurements; they must have excellent skin, hair and teeth, and emote well to the camera. The type of work that plus-size models engage in is of comparable variety to that of their counterparts. Advertising campaigns, magazine editorials, catwalk work, live-TV work and commercials, etc. comprise the variety of work available. Increasingly, plus-size models are also being employed by the media to stimulate debate on healthy self-esteem and body image, especially regarding struggles with eating disorders. An eating disorder is a compulsion to eat or avoid eating that negatively affects both one's physical and mental health

Synonymous and interchangeable with plus-size model is 'full-figured model', 'extended-sizes model', 'outsize model' (predominant usage:UK).

Contents

The Business

As the development of the industry is closely tied to Western population change and clothing industry growth, the plus-size model industry has grown in fairly equal strides at various points on the globe. Many well known model agencies have created divisions to specifically locate and develop potential models to serve demand.

Well-known high fashion designers are starting to look more closely at the earning potential from serving consumers wearing plus-size clothing with prêt-à-porter, and have started booking plus-size models for their advertising campaigns and catwalks. "Prêt-à-Porter" redirects here For the movie Prêt-à-Porter (English title Ready to Wear) see Prêt-à-Porter (film. Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano both used plus-size models in their Spring 2006 showings in Paris. Jean-Paul Gaultier (born April 24 1952, in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne) is a French Fashion designer and past television Juan Carlos Antonio Galliano Guillén, CBE, RDI (born November 28 1960) professionally known as John Galliano, is a Gibraltarian Italian plus-size fashion house Elena Mirò now regularly stages a prêt-à-porter show during Fashion Week in Milan. "Prêt-à-Porter" redirects here For the movie Prêt-à-Porter (English title Ready to Wear) see Prêt-à-Porter (film.

Arguably the most important region of growth has been within North America, where a diverse population and a flourishing media industry has created a unique culture around plus-size modeling, and enabled the ongoing operation of approximately 25+ agencies either specifically representing plus-size models or with divisions to do so. The industry at an international level also includes several well-established agencies in England, Germany and Australia, collectively serving clients throughout Western and Central Europe, South Africa, and the South Pacific and Asian regions. Plus-size models have been serving the strong German client market for over 15 years.

Development of the industry in the United States

Although it is known that U. S. -based manufacturers used larger models to show their plus-size clothing as early as the 1940s, the bias against larger consumers and models pervasive in the fashion industry worked to keep this particular concept of modeling out of the general public's eye until the early 1990s.

Lane Bryant is widely acknowledged to have been the first large-scale producer of plus-size clothing in North America and therefore user of plus-size models. Lane Bryant is a retail women's clothing store focusing on fashion for plus-sized women It began trading in the early 1920s as a producer of clothing for 'Expectant Mothers and Newborns'. By the mid-1920s, Lane Bryant started selling clothing under the category 'For the Stout Women', which ranged between a 38-56 inch bustline. The earliest catalogs used illustrations only to sell their products, but by the mid-1940s photographs were integrated into the catalogs as the evolution of photo technology made this option available. After a brief hiatus from using larger models through the 1960-1970 period, Lane Bryant again began using plus-size models and today remains one of the plus-size model industry's most prestigious and desired clients.

The main players, U. S.

Gary Dakin headed the Karin Models' Curves division, only to leave after a short time to develop the Ford agency's Ford 12+ model division in their New York office. Eileen Ford (born March 25, 1922) is a model agency executive and co-founder in 1946 with her late husband Gerard William "Jerry" Ford, of In Constantine Valhouli's 2001 plus-size model documentary Curve, Dakin states, "We're celebrating our 25th anniversary of the Ford 12+ division. It was the first and longest-existing plus division in the industry. "(sic) Wilhelmina NYC agent Susan Georget started the Wilhelmina 10/20 division in New York 1994. Wilhelmina ( May 1939 - March 1, 1980) was a Supermodel who began with Ford Models and at the peak of her success Together, these agents have recruited the highest calibre of models in the industry and are credited with expanding opportunities for plus-size models beyond working solely for plus-size clothing retailers. Both agents are also regarded as holding the most power in the plus-size model industry, although Georget and Dakin have now removed themselves from day-to-day booking tasks.

With strong cooperation from Wilhelmina 10/20, Curves and Ford 12+, the premiere issue of MODE Magazine was launched in the spring of 1997 to immediate success. No other fashion magazine specifically targeted the plus-size consumer with a Vogue-like fashion philosophy, nor with sophisticated imagery and clothing everyone wanted to buy. Vogue is a Fashion and lifestyle Magazine published in eighteen countries by Condé Nast Publications. As a result, a booking with the magazine was viewed as the ultimate level of plus-modeling success. The editorial practice of including the models' names and quotations on self-esteem to make them more approachable greatly aided the popularity of the women featured and gave them a form of celebrity. MODE also ran model search competitions in association with the Wilhelmina modelling agency, drawing entries from thousands of hopefuls from the US and Canada. The circulation of MODE Magazine was around 600,000 at the time of its demise[1] in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001.

In 1995, Lane Bryant began a transformation of the brand, targeting younger customers with more fashion-forward clothing. Through a series of runway shows and celebrity spokespersons including Queen Latifah, Mia Tyler, Camryn Manheim, Anna Nicole Smith, and Sex And The City's Chris Noth, Lane Bryant became the industry leader via its approach to marketing and advertising. Mia Abagale Tallarico (born December 22, 1978) aka Mia Tyler, is an American Plus-size model and Actress. Camryn Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American Emmy Award - and Golden Globe Award -winning Actress known primarily Vickie Lynn Marshall (November 28 1967 &ndash February 8 2007 better known under the Stage name of Anna Nicole Smith, was an American model Sex and the City was an American Cable television program The original run of the show was broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004 for a Christopher David "Chris" Noth (born November 13 1954) is a Golden Globe -nominated American Actor of Film,

In February 2000, Lane Bryant launched Cacique intimate apparel, and held the first lingerie fashion show for plus-size women. The event was widely acclaimed and created millions of impressions in the press. In 2002, more than 200 million people worldwide watched website playback of the Lane Bryant fashion show featuring 70s rock band KISS. In 2003, the fashion show[2] featured MC Roseanne Barr in a cabaret setting complete with Moulin Rouge-style singers and dancers, which Barr later described as being largely ignored by TV media. Roseanne Cherrie Barr, aka Roseanne Barr, aka Roseanne Arnold, aka Roseanne Thomas, aka Roseanne (born November 3 1952 is an Emmy Can-can at the Moulin Rouge The main feature of an evening at the Moulin Rouge is the performance

Setbacks to growth, U. S.

Occurring shortly before the time of MODE's closure was the failure of several designers' ventures into the plus-size market. Versace (Versatile), Valentino (Carisma), Anne Klein Plus and others ceased producing the clothing which MODE Magazine relied upon, leaving a gaping hole in both the fashion department wardrobes and advertising revenue coffers of MODE Magazine and its successor/s.

State of the U. S. industry today

While the Internet has provided a breeding ground for a growing number of grassroot e-zines, model agencies, online retailers, calendar projects and other associated ventures, the lack of a true fashion print publication serving the plus-size consumer in North America has compounded the stagnation in the growth of the North American plus-model industry. An ezine is a periodic Publication distributed by Email or posted on a Website. With supply of models currently much higher than demand from clients now struggling with reduced advertising budgets, and agencies raising model standards and tightening their belts financially and reducing the number of models they represent, a substantial nudge is required for the industry to experience a growth comparable to that which it enjoyed in the late 1990s.

The April and May 2007 U. S. editions of Vogue and Glamour have recently featured plus-size models in fashion editorial and articles regarding healthy body image. Vogue is a Fashion and lifestyle Magazine published in eighteen countries by Condé Nast Publications. Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. While some believe the discussion of self-esteem and body image is not the primary business of the plus-size model, this type of coverage in mainstream media does serve the purpose of furthering the potential for growth as the media embraces models over a U. S. size 12 and shows them in a positive light. It should be noted that a bare handful of models are being used repeatedly in this regard, creating the impression that only a few models are 'acceptable' to the media in portraying the concept of plus-size modeling and the associated industry.

U. S. television program America's Next Top Model has featured contestants[3] acknowledging the plus-size industry's relevance to fashion since the show's launch in 2003. America's Next Top Model (often shortened to Top Model or abbreviated as ANTM) is a Reality television show in which a number of women compete After elimination from the competition some of the contestants have signed contracts with the Wilhelmina agency, although to date none have successfully translated their TV celebrity into an ongoing modeling career. Whitney Thompson, the winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10, will appear in a national campaign for CoverGirl cosmetics, as well as on the cover of Seventeen as part of her prize package. Whitney Thompson is an American Fashion model most notable as the winner of the tenth cycle of America's Next Top Model. America's Next Top Model Cycle 10 is the tenth cycle of America's Next Top Model and the fourth season to be aired on The CW network CoverGirl is a Cosmetics line founded in 1958 in Baltimore Maryland, by the Noxzema Chemical Company (later called Noxell and acquired by Procter Seventeen is an American Magazine for teenagers. It was first published in 1944. She also received a model contract with Elite Model Management. Elite Model Management ( Elite) is a Modeling agency founded in Paris, France, in 1972 by John Casablancas and Alain

2007 was the launch year for several homegrown calendar projects featuring models over a U. S. size 12, including the well-publicized Luscious and Fenomenal Calendar products. These calendars have tested the market for plus-size models to be seen outside of clothing-advertisment-only contexts, and have captured the interest of people outside of the plus-size clothing consumer demographic.

Notable plus-size models, North America

Notable plus-size models, other regions

Plus-size Celebrities/Entertainers

Celebrities who wear clothing larger than a standard U. S. size 8 have increasingly been attracting endorsement contracts as advertisers seek to extend size-acceptance into the film, TV and music industries, and/or make use of their family or other connections. Please note that women who have lost weight, dropping below a size 10, since gaining popularity do not form part of this entry.

The relationship of plus-size modeling to classical ideals of beauty

Various magazines and advertising campaigns have depicted plus-size models as embodying a return to the voluptuous Classical ideal of feminine beauty, as defined by sculptures such as the Venus de' Medici and the Winged Victory of Samothrace--i. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The Venus de' Medici or Medici Venus is a lifesize Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, is a third e. , the aesthetic ideal that generally prevailed throughout Western history, until well into the twentieth century. The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings Notable among these is Elena Miro's 2003-2005 campaign featuring model Barbara Brickner reprising well-known works of art, and Lara Johnson's May 2002 appearance in US Glamour Magazine alongside a replica of the Venus de Milo [1]. Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications.

References

  1. ^ Freedom Communications press release, December 28 2001
  2. ^ Coverage of show by FashionTelevisionChannel
  3. ^ Robin Manning/Cycle 1, Anna Bradfield/Cycle 2, Toccara Jones/Cycle 3, Diane Hernandez/Cycle 5, Diana Zalewski/Cycle 8, Whitney Cunningham/Cycle 8, Sarah Hartshorne/Cycle 9, Whitney Thompson/Cycle 10
  4. ^ Jacksonville.com magazine article, 28 Feb 2008
  5. ^ http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/1126-interview-with-whitney-thompson-winner-of-americas-next-top-model-cycle-10
  6. ^ Project Confidence | Queen Latifah
  7. ^ Curvation | Project Confidence
FashionTelevisionChannel is a Canadian English language category 1 Digital cable Specialty channel owned by CTVglobemedia Toccara Jones (born March 13 1981 from Dayton, Ohio, is an American Fashion model and occasional Actress and Television personality
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic