Arguably, the size-0 fetish never really disappeared in the fashion industry, and despite styles and trends coming and going at an exponential rate, thinness is continuously equated to beauty. The TikTok trend of “Is it a fit or is she just skinny?” has forced people to question if fashion approval is a disguise for “body praise”, as straight-bodied people would receive a lot more praise for a mediocre sense of styling than a plus-sized person wearing the same outfit. Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski both fit the fashion industry’s ideal body type and are known to wear extremely basic outfits that people want to recreate (and are consequently called fashion icons), but stars like Lizzo are rarely regarded as fashion icons. At least not to the same extent as the former two.
Arguably, the size-0 fetish never really disappeared in the fashion industry, and despite styles and trends coming and going at an exponential rate, thinness is continuously equated to beauty
So are plus-sized people held to a higher fashion standard? Unfortunately, yes. Regardless of the lack of fairness, it is clear to see that plus-sized people are less likely to be seen as fashion icons because their bodies aren’t the ‘accessory’ that smaller bodies have become. A thin person’s body precedes them because of beauty standards, so people desire the body and assume they desire the outfit. That’s what TikTok creators aimed to deconstruct - is it actually a good outfit or are we blinded by their body?
The exploration of skinny privilege highlights this issue of fashion inaccessibility and how the majority of pieces are created with a “standard size” in mind (whatever the hell that is), making it harder for plus-sized people to find the clothing that they want. And, they are then held to a higher standard than their smaller counterparts solely because fashion has wrongly always been centred around the social construct of an ideal body type. Even if they look amazing, a plus-sized person is likely to be scrutinised for their style-choices and whether the pieces are “flattering” or not. Whether “flattering” is used fairly as a term to describe if something suits the person, or if it’s used from a fatphobic standpoint to mean “doesn’t-make-you-look-skinner” is up to interpretation.
At the end of the day, fashion should be fun and is ultimately subjective, so people should wear what they feel good in regardless of body type
What creators found when exploring the topic, is that some outfits look good on smaller and bigger bodies, and some just on one type. Different silhouettes do suit different body types - what looks great on someone with an endomorphic body might not suit someone with an ectomorphic body as much. At the end of the day, fashion should be fun and is ultimately subjective, so people should wear what they feel good in regardless of body type. The issue isn’t with what suits someone and looks good on them, it’s the idolisation of clothes solely because its worn by someone with a thin frame.