Chethma De Mel, Jadetimes Staff
C. J. De Mel is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Entertainment News
On the second day of Paris Fashion Week, at the Palais de Tokyo, Ester Manas greeted guests with a giant inflatable elephant greeting at the entrance to their hotly anticipated show. The only label on the official calendar solely dedicated to size-inclusive collections, Ester Manas cast a diverse array of models to present a collection of finely crafted tulle, apparent lingerie, and sanded, embossed leather.
The brand, launched by design duo Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre in 2019, has amassed a host of awards for innovative, adjustable couture techniques. With ruching and drawstrings used liberally in their designs, the need for normal sizing is obviated, and they fit everyone from XS to 3XL. The house's all-inclusive spirit won them the ANDAM prize last year, and its creations have appeared on the likes of SZA, Jorja Smith, Kali Uchis, and Beth Ditto. But the elephant motif, which was also serving as the title of the show, spoke to a reality-one which the designers spotlighted backstage: that in recent months, support for size inclusivity has waned.
Manas noticed the increase of fatphobia, where "benevolence" towards body diversity seemed to be disappearing. There were a few problems on the designers' part during the casting; the choices for size-inclusive models were limited, since many models don't travel to Paris for castings anymore. They said they were also asked how many "normal models" they had booked-a term used by models with lower BMIs. Designers challenged ultra-thin standards normalized in the culture, from their childhood habit of cutting desserts to smoking and suppressing appetite.
The fashion designers have gone further to express apprehension over the rising fad of resorting to diabetic medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss. This phenomenon has been termed as "being Ozempicked," and it's an advancement that's gaining rapid momentum; in fact, Goldman Sachs predicts that as many as 70 million people might be taking such drugs by the year 2028. The echoes are already palpable within the world of fashion and beauty, both of which are experiencing a drop in mid-size and plus-size model usage. In fact, mid and plus-size models showed a 24% drop during the Fall-Winter 2023 shows compared to the Spring-Summer season. Another report by Vogue Business showed that 95.6% of the looks presented for Fall-Winter 2023 were in sizes US 0-4.
Tackling these issues head-on, Ester Manas has increasingly relied on direct sales and a "See Now, Buy Now" model that enables customers to pre-order pieces directly from the runway. Designers said they felt that size inclusivity is no longer a point of concern within the fashion industry. According to publicist Giulietta Canzani Mora, for instance, "Inclusion was chic for a while, but the whole idea of it was more about jumping onto a bandwagon rather than an actual shift.".
Moving forward, the brand remains committed to designing strong, sexy pieces for women of all sizes. Stylist Guillaume Boulez was optimistic about the brand continuing to empower women through clothes: "The women we dress are smart, lead great careers, and dress the way they want," added Delepierre. Ester Manas hopes to give these women the confidence and freedom to be seen and bold, come what may with regard to changing trends.
