BREAKING THE PATTERN OF SIZE EXCLUSION
How the Global Pandemic Transformed and Re-affirmed Our Perception of Plus-Sized Fashion
Written by Autumn Moon | Designed by Jill O’Farrell Photographed by Bella Bohnsack
In recent months, so much has changed and fluctuated in the world of fashion. Quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic not only allowed for the growth of many new trends, it also produced a new fearless spirit in consumer fashion choices. Social media apps, including Instagram and TikTok, allowed for the spread of exciting new fashion ideals— normalizing what was once perceived as less desirable. One positive transformation reflected on social media platforms was the rise of plus-sized and bigger women reforming fashion and how we
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perceive it, digest it, and interact with it. For a very long time, plus-sized women were not represented in mainstream fashion media, from the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, to the standardization of petite Instagram models, to billboard ads. This led to an unspoken ideal in our culture—that to be bigger was to be unfashionable. However, with quarantine came change. People began to share videos and images of themselves fearlessly online. They began wearing what they wanted, not necessarily what was considered socially acceptable within our cultural norms. These online pioneers, paired with the representation of icons such as Ashley Graham and Lizzo in mainstream media, demonstrated on a global scale that bigger is certainly as beautiful. Additionally, there were influencers online like Victoria Garrick who simply were out to prove that you don’t need to be “perfect,” or a size zero, to be beautiful, lovable, and incredible. These messages began to infiltrate our world, leading to the rise of many new
