Runway shows quite literally walk the walk of the dangerously body-skewed fashion industry.
At most shows, designers trot out models who are a size 0 or (on the high end) a voluptuous size 2 . . . and rarely nothing else. Thigh gaps, ribs and protuding clavicles are de rigeur. This "ideal"—proferred as possible but unachieveable for most—has in some cases claimed the lives of models, one of whom, Ana Carolina Reston, famously died a few years ago of anorexia during a fashion show.
Rarely do these shows even attempt to showcase bodies that are fuller, older, flawed, different. AKA, all the myriad things that actually comprise the sweeping spectrum of the female body. Which is why this year's Lingerie Fashion Week was something of a revelation.
The event, which wrapped up its fourth season late last month in New York, featured 25 designers showcasing their sexy garments on—get this—women of all shapes and sizes and types. There were size-16 women. Pregnant women. Cancer survivor women. Women with tattoos. Older women. Smiling women. All sashaying down a runway routinely and explicitly reserved for women not like them.
We got a hold of images from three of the event's shows—a PinkChoseMe Foundation show celebrating breast cancer survivors, a Burlesque-inspired show for Secrets in Lace featuring curvy models, and a show for You! maternity lingerie with pregnant models.
We think all these women look damn good. And the whole thing is so refeshing it's running like cool clean water down our throats.
PinkChoseMe Foundation Breast Cancer Survivor Show
Secrets In Lace Show
You! Maternity Fashion Show
