Body positivity is a deeply rewarding and nourishing ideology. It is focused on the practice of self-love, rather than the idealisation of a specific body type, and the public amplification and dissemination of images or discourse featuring varying, intersectional bodies. Its cultural resonance has undoubtedly affected the wider project of dismantling traditional and dangerous archetypal body standards for women and men, while attempting to bolster the presence of POC, LGBT and disabled bodies in mainstream representation. It should be noted, however, that a great amount of work remains to be done in terms of representing the latter three categories in particular, within both this movement and wider industry practices. Thanks to the work of brazen activists like Jameela Jamil or iconoclasts of tradition like Ashley Greene, extended models have become an increasingly common feature in the ad campaigns of high street fashion brands, though their penetration of high fashion, unsurprisingly, has been far less ubiquitous. In the context of the last five or so years, it is surprising that mid-size fashion has been so extensively discounted in body positive rhetoric despite its undeniable potential for mass-appeal.

A blossoming offshoot of the body positivity movement in the fashion industry is the emergence of ‘mid-size fashion’. Like plus-size fashion, this subtype of the broader industry seeks to produce wider mainstream representation for a set of particular body types. The ‘mid-size’ type includes all bodies UK 10-14, and the movement seeks to promote love, confidence and wider media recognition for the bodies under this umbrella. This category encompasses so many, and exists in the space between the beauty standards of typical model sizing and those of plus-size fashion. 

The mechanisms of political and cultural change in our time are so often catalysed by social media, and the mid-size movement is no exception. Mid-size influencers exist across online platforms, from the Instagram account @midsizecollective created by Anushka Moore, traditional bloggers like Sharan Gill or YouTubers like Lucy Wood or Carry Dayton (who boast hundreds of thousands of subscribers). It is equally important to recognise the work of  even smaller video creators, such as Jazzmin Rae or The Kitty Luxe. All have become pioneers of this emerging world of fashion, seeking the normalisation of bodies which exist in an odd space of under-representation and immense relatability. 

Typically, models are selected from either end of the spectrum mentioned, from a pool of traditional model sample sizes (UK 4- 8) or from a selection of extended models, which typically range from size UK 16 – 26. Mid-size models are severely under-selected in both mainstream fashion advertising and in Haute Couture (though again, quelle surprise here), creating an observable trend across the fashion industry of a movement between polarities, without recognition of those in between.

When doing research for this article, I noted a similar disparity between the visual representation of mid-size fashion and its role in critical discourse surrounding body positivity. When Googled, the top result for mid-size fashion was an article from 2018, showing the steady but slow maturation of recognition for this segment of the fashion and influencer industry. For someone with a long-affirmed admiration for the body positivity movement and its deeply important work, I felt guilty for not being cognisant of this growingly influential sphere of cultural discussion about body representation, especially one which encompasses such a vast array of people. While an intersectional overhaul of bodily representation is needed across industries, I like to think that in writing even this small piece on mid-size fashion I can help contribute to greater discussion of mid-size bodies as a critical element of both the body positivity movement and the world of fashion. 

 

Here are some links to YouTube videos with great mid-size inclusive content:

 

Lucy Wood on other mid-size Girls who will change your life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k56PNB2H_Vg&t=1068s

 

A midsize body confident try-on haul: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nG8cudSizM

 

Tips on DIYing your old clothes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtl0QqKAnHE

 

A chit chat with Jazzmin Rae on work, BLM, moving, relationships etc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1_qXkw-PXs