Tim Gunn Calls the Fashion Industry a Disgrace

In an editorial on September 8 in the Washington Post, Tim Gunn was relentless in saying that it is a disgrace that the fashion industry has been ignoring women who wear a size 16 rather than a size 6.

According to a recent study from Washington State University, the average American woman fits into the size 16 to 18 category. For the past years, these plus-sized women have been growing and has now reached about a hundred million. With such alarming result, Gunn realizes the potential for business as there is money to be made for such strata. He feels, however, that fashion designers have not been thinking out of the box, lack imagination and are afraid of taking risks.

The Project Runway mentor has gone as far as talking to a number of designers and what he found out was even more surprising. In a nutshell, based on his interviews as revealed in the Washington Post, having plus-size women in fashion design is complicated and difficult because no two size 16 women are the same. These responses are problematic because many women are being excluded from the world of fashion. He defines this as a design failure and not a customer issue.

As a reaction to this fashion breakout, Forbes magazine has spoken out on September 9 through contributor Caitlin Kelly. In her own words she says, “even when our wallets are full, our choices remain annoyingly few and our closets frustratingly empty.” This confirms what Gunn was talking about and that plus-size women truly are consumers who want to spend serious money for well-made clothing. Forbes calls out on fashion designers to “offer larger women shoppers amazing clothes, well-made of quality fabrics, in sizes that fit” the plus-size population.

Although reality bites, Tim Gunn says that change is not impossible. The number of brands already including plus-size women in their collections is growing but Gunn poses a challenge by saying that there is an art to doing this and that designers should make it work.