So everyone is talking about how bold Jean-Paul Gaultier was to have a plus size model in his runway show. A plus size model with no pants on.
But what the hell else is she supposed to wear at a Jean-Paul Gaultier show? Because it’s not like he makes pants her size. For fuck’s sake.
What bothered me about her was that he made her out to be ugly. Why the stupid outfit and hair? The model behind her was in a simple red dress without outrageous hair or makeup.
I understand the point he’s tryig to make and it s–ks! Plus sized women can, and are, also beautiful and he made a mockery of that even more.
My favorite part of the article was when he said the materials were inspired by robots and androids. You know, all those robots and androids he knows. Here in reality. That give hime ideas.
AHAHAHAHAHA that’s the same thing that I thought! Besides, that’s honestly the first time that I’ve been turned on by a model in a fashion show.
As a fat chick I have to say it is a step in the right direction… even if it is a pantless one. Not sure my pinky toe would even fit a size 2!!
What a slap in the face to plus-sized models! He made her as ugly as he could and he further made her stand out by putting her in butt-ugly lingerie when the rest of the collection was sportswear. Nice.
Excellent French Revolution-inspired title for this post…well played.
It’s good. No matter what else. At least it’s an acknowledgement by a top fashion designer that overweight people exist for christ sakes. (Even though he doesn’t make size 26 or whatever). It’s still inclusion for once. Gaultier also put “plus size” model Crystal Renn in his spring 2006 show. She looked beautiful.
http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/S2006RTW/JPGAULTI/RUNWAY/00590m.jpg
when i first saw that article, i thought “hey that’s kind of cool”. then i actually thought about it, and did the exact same thing. i searched to see if the fashion label even makes plus sized clothing, or plans on it.
i’m all for making a statement, but seems like there was nothing to back it up. seems he just did it for shock value.
I love mykull. Just saying. He’s the cutest, and I bet you miss him. He was at my party tonight and i had a lot of beer. Sorry for cluttering up comments but I wanted to know you have good friends.
xxoo
Wasn’t that oh so relevant? I rock.
The model was made to look yikky. That sucks.
Yes, it would have been a much more sincere gesture if he’d put her in actual clothes from his line. Like, if he’d taken five outfits and sewn them all together. But putting her in that getup made her a spectacle, not part of the show. A truly revolutionary act would be to show her to be just as beautiful as everybody else.
I wonder what made her agree to go on in such a bizarre get-up. The look on her face says, “I’m having that nightmare where suddenly I am on a runway, half-naked, and I realize I forgot to put my coulottes on”. But she isn’t waking up from that nightmare. I hope her mother doesn’t have to see that picture.
I wish she had been beautifully attired **sigh
Thanks for sharing.
Frances
Wow. Crystal Renn is unbelievably gorgeous. She looks like a painting. I’m surprised I don’t see her more often. I can honestly say she blows about 99% of all other models (plus size or no) out of the water.
Now why did he have to go to such an extreme? 132kg is approproximately 290lbs. And as such, this model while attractive in her own right is not an accurate representation of the middle range that we are looking to see reflected in fashion magazines, shows, etc.
I love the photos! I don’t care if Gaultier was trying to make a statement or not. I don’t give a fuck about him or about any other designer. I just love *her*. She’s so articulate and badass in interviews, where people are basically discriminating against her openly to her face, and she strongly tells them facts and truths and shuts them down:
blogs.smh.com.au/entertainment/archives/fashion_season/006613.html
Also, I think she looks SOOOOOO hot! I don’t understand why people are freaking out about her hair. She wears her hair big and frizzy in her day-to-day life. Also, I’m lovin’ the panties! So sexy.
Also, it’s breaking my heart how many people are reacting to this photo with “She looks ugly”. Wow. Feel free to cavort with some shallow frat boys; you’ll fit right in.
Hey Randa, I just read your site like an hour ago and followed the link to that interview. And the stuff she said changed my mind about this a little bit. More on this later.
w,
That’s cool. This is really benign compared to what people are saying all over the web. there’s some really UGLY stuff being said. It’s really disheartening. But then I go back to my fat acceptance sites and i remind myself that this is part of the evil plan of Big Capitalism.
hugs,
r
Well…regardless whether or not you like it, it was done for artistic reasons. But what makes me shake my head is that i think I understand his reason…its nothing more than cheap sesationalism, a vulgar display of smarmy political corectness marquarading as open mindedness that really says “look at the freak eveyone, hows THAT for a juxtiposition?”
Thank god ‘sexy’ is a state of mind….
I agree with Andy (and Wendy’s later entry). If I thought for one minute that Gaultier was actually going to design clothes for a large woman, I’d be encouraged. I think it’s just a stunt and he thought he was using her. Fortunately, she’s too smart to let herself be used, and used the event to her own advantage.
Color me “Late Kate,” but I am just glad for all of “Fatness-Kind” that JPG did not dress her in a hideous muumuu (sp?), or anything drop waisted or boat necked… the universal wardrobe malfunction for our mother’s generation of dealing with one’s shape.
I think Velvet is gorgeous regardless. It takes alot of courage to put yourself out there like that. Hell, I won’t even wear a red cocktail dress because it draws too much attention to me… and despite that, I like to think I accept myself, cellulite and all.
Some of you guys are missing the point entirely. It is a powerful statement to glamour iconography when people who remotely look like us are included. While strides still need to be made when it comes to larger folk and fashion, Gaultier has given us visibility. When you are presented with that kind of opportunity, you use it to your advantage and to the gain of others. This is what Velvet is doing. She’s intelligent, beautiful and gives dimension in more ways than one.
A plus-sized woman in a couture fashion show in lingerie no less? As one of the only zaftig burlesque performers in the world, I face the challenge everytime I get on stage of people thinking I have no right to be there because I’m not a tiny chica. What JPG and Velvet are doing does take huge huge cajones. They are challenging people’s way of thinking and personal prejudices. As for the money end of it, the best way to evoke change is to demonstrate how powerful we are as a buying force. Once people realize there’s money to be made, then you will see change.
Curvy girls can look pretty good in lingerie! Just have a look at: http://www.ohsocurvy.com.au featuring just a few models in plus size lingerie. I’m working with a few models now to replace all the manufactures photos with those of real women.