Defining

One size never fits all.

When staring at the glitz and glamor of the fashion industry decades ago, you can get lost in the aesthetic and forget to acknowledge the fact that many diverse groups were struggling to find a model that looks like them.

“Beautiful” has been one-dimensional for decades. Models in the past faced the struggles of either not being accepted or not fitting a specific appearance in order to pursue their passion. Over the years, the modeling business grew more inclusive and began breaking the original unrealistic borders set for women. In today’s world, models of all sorts are getting involved in the media and proving that there are still more ways the vogue of today can be inclusive.

When looking at the 1950s through the 2000s, some of the most historic collections in the industry were made. However, there was a reality that was concealed once the runway lit up. It hid the pressure all these women had to deal with, such as being the ideal size and fitting the stereotype of “perfect.” “I love to find appreciation in the art and the beauty of it all. However, the standards and prejudice that were so very present are not at all favorable…it’s disgusting,” sophomore Jonah Hollifield said. The modeling industry is said to have held such power over the freedoms of women in the business, and caused great destruction.

“In the past, the industry has trained us to believe that models must be rail thin, shapeless is beautiful and today more than ever we seem to be celebrating the natural beauty and curves of the female shape,” President of TOPS Marketing and TOPS Magazine, Jayme Jackson said. Those who fit the aspired body type were admired more by the public, causing unrealistic standards to surface and eventually damaging perspectives worldwide.

“When I was young, we were constantly comparing ourselves to the unrealistic, photoshopped models. We’ve since then realized how traumatic that was, hence the great push-back to demand representation for all in today’s beauty industry,” President of Cordial Lee, Shelby Packer said. The industry forced everyone who advertised beauty to strive for perfection. This caused the mass chaos of unrealistic standards that can worsen the mental and physical health of the public.

Playing into the behind-the-scenes struggles were the strategies women used to keep themselves in the only shape that was accepted. “They needed to stay thin so they didn’t eat and that encouraged eating disorders, which isn’t good. But now we’re kind of trying to get away from that because it isn’t a healthy lifestyle,” senior Ellen Bray said. Today eating disorders have more attention, while in previous years fewer people knew about what went into being the “perfect shape.” In the 1950s the ideal size was the curvy, hourglass figure; in the 1960s and 1970s, having a super tall and thin appearance was ideal; in the 1980s, it was all about being athletically curvy; the 1990s encouraged being extremely skinny and having a less-cared for appearance; currently, in the 2000s-2020s the standard is blurry, but encouraging everyone to be their healthiest selves.

“Back then, eating disorders weren’t very recognized. They were just a thing that people joked about, but it wasn’t real,” Hollifield said. In the past, eating disorders were viewed as absurd and overlooked and the real pain many models were facing, was covered up by the smiles they put up on the runway.

Lately, standards have positively shifted by allowing various types of women to embrace their differences and celebrate their beauty. “More people can see themselves within media and they’re able to relate more and they’ll get to see how people with their body types can look in certain outfits whereas it’s not just the same tall, thin model all the time,” Bray said. All races, sizes, and types of models are striving to get fully portrayed as beautiful.

“I guess what really gives me hope is representation,” Hollifield said. According to a demographic from Zippia, 32.14% of models in 2010 were of color, and that percentage in 2019 was 34.62%. Slow progress is still moving progress. “I am excited in the direction that fashion is moving in the 21st century and also comforted in the fact that most trends come back into the spotlight every 20-30 years,” Jackson said. Many aspects of the old fashion industry shall not be repeated in the future, such as these beauty standards. However, past trends coming back with a present-day twist are a very favored part of style these days. This describes the mantra, “vintage style, not vintage values.”

Models who take their job seriously, feel confident in their skin, and are good at what they’re doing can shine no matter what they look like. “Featuring models of color is just as important as featuring plus size models. For beauty industry standards to shift and be inclusive, representation matters,” Packer said. Ignoring specific groups of people and depriving them of media representation can lead to injustice and ignorance of the fact that all types are beautiful.

“Beautiful doesn’t just mean tall and skinny. It can also mean you can be short and skinny. You can be tall and curvy… it makes people see that other people have good features too. And it just makes people be able to see themselves more,” Bray said. People should not forget some of the most groundbreaking inspirations like Donyale Luna, Anna Bayle, and Shyamoli Varma. These were some of the world’s first supermodels of color, sparking what transformed the industry into a more diverse community of models. “Diversity is beautiful, beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors and it is really important that when we read a magazine, flip through a blog post that we see a more accurate representation of ourselves as women,” Jackson said.

Today we have Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, and Kate Wasley. All