'[It has to do] much more about how we view and treat people. 70% of women can’t be considered a specialty category; you’re speaking about the vast majority of women who are buying clothes.' - Universal Standard's Alexandra Waldman
Women have been shouting that message for ages, and it’s ridiculous that it needs to be said in 2022, but the industry has yet to embrace widespread change. Fashion still divides everyone into groups based on their dress size, an antiquated practice that results in a lack of access to clothing and two very different retail realities. Right now, 70% of women in America are size 14 or larger, which places them into the plus-size category, a specialty segment of the market.
At this point, I’m a bit surprised we still have to have these conversations, but something has to change, and the shift we need is cultural. It has less to do with fashion or shopping and is much more about how we view and treat people. 70% of women can’t be considered a specialty category; you’re speaking about the vast majority of women who are buying clothes. Behind closed doors, decisions are being made that divide us into different groups based on our size.
Negative assumptions about what consumers of a certain size are interested in and longstanding prejudices about weight have imposed limits on who designers create for. An underserved market exists, one with billions of dollars of spending power and a desire to invest in their wardrobes. Fashion may have treated these women like second-class citizens in the past, but it would be doubly shameful to carry those exclusionary and demeaning practices into the future.
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