This season, a couple of major labels featured mid and plus-size models in their shows — including Balenciaga and Givenchy. It wasn’t the first time: in previous seasons, those moments of visibility hinted that luxury houses might be starting to consider bigger bodies, and harness the major missed opportunity in mid and plus-size consumers. But the lack of consistency — and the overall decline in representation across the wider schedule — suggests those efforts remain isolated.
Against a backdrop of rising conservatism, obsessive self-optimization, and growing use of GLP-1s, these moments of inclusivity, while positive, don’t offer the same level of hope they once did. In fact, they are stark reminders that curve models on the runway are increasingly rare, and increasingly obvious, as the rest of the models continue to shrink.
Of the 7,817 looks presented across 182 shows and…
