ARGENTINIAN LINGERIE DESIGNERS Lorena Pèrez

CHALLENGING THE ‘FASHIONABLE’ SILHOUETTE: ARGENTINIAN LINGERIE DESIGNERS

BY LORENA PÉREZ

For decades, the fashion industry has defined fundamental elements of culture including standards of beauty and “ideal” body types. Today, these beauty ideals are being challenged as people demand better representation of a diversity of body sizes, the majority of which do not fit within the extremely limited confines of long-standing stereotypes. Such a change takes time because of well established and engrained cultural expectations.

In the Argentine fashion market, the need to reformulate size tables to consider different body shapes is especially important considering that current sizing is inadequate and incomplete for Argentine women’s bodies. This lack led to the emergence of independent underwear designers with online platforms available for direct sales that solve everyday wardrobe situations, such as wearing bras according to the actual measurement of the bust. In Buenos Aires it is not possible to buy bras by cup size and band size, as bras only come in a single digit numerical size.

“I make a constant modification regarding sizes because it is not about selling regardless of the final result. I am interested in working on products that can be used well, that fit well and last. That is why I offer a personalized service, I ask for the measurements and adjust the size to the client “, says Clari Nociti, head of Clarabella, a lingerie brand that is distinguished by a size chart that ranges from small to extra-large.

“I can’t understand another way of working that is not from inclusion and respect. Most brands discriminate

against different people who do not fit into the status quo, affecting the self-perception of women and leaving them outdated. 70% of the population has problems wearing what they like, because there are no sizes for more than 30% of the population, which significantly affects the self-esteem of the rest,” explains Maru Arabéhèty from Elle Van Tok. The designer started her brand with nine sizes of bras that she customized with the measurements of her wearers. Thus, she reached 15 sizes made with European sizing and today offers models with adjustable strap and a perfected cup that adapts to the volume.

Another business model in plus and inclusive size lingerie is that of Lucía Righetti. With Santa Lucía she wanted to create a brand of made-to-measure lingerie. It seemed absurd to her that despite the fact that there are many different body types, everyone must adapt to a limited and scant size chart imposed by the market. “Through personalized design, I was able to dedicate myself to each person, and her body in particular, so that the models could better adapt to their activities and personal tastes. Different materials and models are always emerging. If I did not work on demand I would not have the freedom to explore.”

Plus-size bloggers and fat activists drive and challenge the status quo of the fashion system. These women not only have practical dress needs, but they want to participate fully in fashion as a form of expression. Women who wear plus sizes now have greater access to fashion products and interact through new online spaces that challenge and modify the established system. The evolution of the gaze towards the female body is being defined in the fourth wave of feminism.

While the global fashion system is attempting to be more inclusive, the Argentine market has already found success. By utilizing a different system of sizing, Argentine designers are adapting to the fashion needs of a larger population of consumers.