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Fashionably Voluptuous: Repackaging the Fuller-Sized Figure

This research contributes to the modicum of literature and media debate related to the perception of the fuller-sized figure within global fashion. It emphasises a need for a greater awareness of the sartorial needs of plus-sized fashion consumers. While there has been much debate in the fashion and health industries linked to thinness and anorexia (Sproles and Burns 1994, World Health Organisation, 2003) the fuller-sized figure has not yet been fully considered. My research focuses on the impact of the fuller-size on the fashion industry as statistically a huge percentage of people globally are considered overweight (Fiore 2007, Heitmeyer and Rutherford-Black 2000). Existing research has recognised that fuller-sized people are considered unhappy, unattractive and has identified a huge level of discrimination towards the overweight (Blumberg and Mellis 1985; Salusso-Dounier 1993). The investigation incorporates original methodologies including (1) object-based research, examining museological items highlighting the design and manufacture of garments for the fuller-sized figure, (2) action research in the design studio considering fashion designers’ attitudes towards the plus-size and their effect on production and consumption and (3) 300 interviews identifying fashion choices available for larger-sized bodies. The research has significance for the global fashion industry as statistics in the UK alone suggest that 47% of women are a size 16 and above (French 2011). It concludes with the suggestion that the oversized body could be re-packaged as voluptuous, a positive word implying a level of indulgence in luxury, sensual pleasure and enjoyment, making the fuller-figure appear commercially palatable through greater world-wide sales of plus sized clothing.