Amid the heightening popularity of weight-loss medication Ozempic, as well as a resurgence in conservative ideals as shown in election results both sides of the Atlantic, it appears these shifts are also bringing about certain impacts across the “big four” fashion shows. 

Those impacts were evident in Vogue Business’s recently issued Autumn/Winter 2025 size inclusivity report. The outlet found that both mid-size and plus-size models were less strongly represented than previously across the recent season’s catwalks in New York, Milan, London, and Paris. 

Specifically, of the 8,703 looks showcased across 198 shows and presentations, “straight size” (US sizes 0-4) accounted for 97.7% of them. This left a mere 2% as mid-size (US sizes 6-12, or UK sizes 10-16), with 0.3% of the presented looks being plus-size (US sizes 14+, or UK sizes 18+). 

Given that plus-size representation had already been low the previous season – at 0.8% – and even mid-size representation had been at a mere 4.3%, these latest findings will be regarded as rather grim ones by many observers. 

Exaggerated curves featured on the runways. But curvy models? Somewhat less so 

This apparent fallback in plus-size and mid-size representation around the “big four” has caused no lack of consternation for great numbers of fashion watchers. 

The trend is perhaps all the more curious given that across the AW25 catwalks, designers exhibited a clear appetite for curvaceous silhouettes. In the words of Vogue Business, all manner of “fake breasts”, “conical bras”, “cinched waists”, and “exaggerated hips” were flaunted to showgoers. 

The outlet noted, however, that “there was a noticeable drop in the number of curvy models”. 

Writing for the intersectional feminist publication Polyester, fashion content creator Anastasia Vartanian lamented that “when wide hips are trending, but plus-size models are nowhere to be seen, it sends a message: we want curves, but not yours.” 

Another prominent figure cited by Vogue Business, journalist and editor Dan Hastings-Narayanin, said the prominence of such “exaggerated silhouettes” reinforced the notion that “a fat body is something performative – something to wear, experiment with, but never truly embody.”

What else did we learn, drilling down further into the statistics? 

Poring over the data gathered by Vogue Business, it emerges that across 198 shows, a mere 12 brands included any plus-size models (five brands in New York, five in London, and two in Paris). 

The publication also observed that among the mid-size models who walked the catwalks during the season, the same two or three faces appeared across shows, frequently as the only non-straight-size model. 

No plus-size model appeared in any show across Milan Fashion Week, with a mere 0.9% of the looks in Milan being mid-size. 

Of the big four fashion weeks, London retained its status as the most size-inclusive. However, there was still a near-halving of the mid-size and plus-size representation in the UK capital, from 13% the previous season to 7% this season. 

The London-based designer Sinéad O’Dwyer perhaps best summed up the situation, commenting: “Nothing structural has changed… there needs to be a collective desire for this to change if the industry will ever shift, and I’m not sure there is amongst those with the power.”

To find out more about the contribution our marketing agency for luxury brands and fashion players can make to your brand’s efforts to grow during 2025 and over the years ahead, please don’t wait to contact the Skywire London team. 

Photo by Joeyy Lee on Unsplash