Fashion
SOUTH AFRICA’S
PLUSINDUSTRY
SIZE
Studies
show that nearly 70% of the women in South Africa
wear size 36 and
above. In the past
the plus-size industry was treated as
the stepsister of
fashion but over the
last few years it has
managed to make
its mark.
Despite the European fashion and
media industries’
efforts to accommodate fuller bodies by protesting
against the use of
size zero models
and occasionally
putting plus-sized
beauties on magazine covers, designer brands still
favour the thin.
But the South African fashion world is different.
On our ramps emaciated models are
few and far between. The average size for a South
African model is between 32 and 34, but women who don’t
fit this mould are also featured in shows. Some local designer labels have even replaced models with celebrities of varying shapes,
heights and sizes.
It is a growing trend that some critics claim distracts from the
clothing and turns the runway into a red carpet.
But designers like David Tlale and Craig Jacobs say they don’t cast
celebrities and socialites merely for spectacle, they use them to
represent size democracy. In a recent newspaper interview, Jacobs said that it doesn’t make business sense not to cater for the
fuller figure.
“Most of my clientele are full-figured or plus-sized because most
African women aren’t rail-thin. Designing plus size isn’t and
shouldn’t be challenging because a designer’s job is to flatter a
person’s figure, regardless of size, shape or height,” says Jacobs.