The fashion industry has come a long way in the last decade towards being inclusive of people of all backgrounds. After years of body-positive figures raising their voices about the importance and necessity of size diversity in fashion, plus-size creatives are finally being recognized by the global fashion community for their talent and contributions. With each passing season, the industry moves closer toward becoming truly reflective of the world we live in.
One force propelling it forward is the Curvy Con, a plus-size fashion convention during New York Fashion Week founded by notable plus-size bloggers CeCe Olisa and Chastity Garner. At the Curvy Con, people can shop from size-inclusive brands, participate in a host of beauty and fashion workshops, and watch runway shows and panels with well-known speakers tackling topics from plus representation in the media to body acceptance and self-image. This year’s lineup featured people like former Teen Vogue cover star Lizzo, Joy Nash, Project Runway season 14 winner Ashley Nell Tipton, designer Tracy Reese, and tennis legend and designer Venus Williams, as well as a fashion show sponsored by Loft with a bevy of everyday women hitting the runway.
Launched in 2015, the three-day gathering is essentially the body-positive community come to life. “The Curvy Con was created to give plus-size woman a space to be themselves. You know how hard it is to do plus-size shopping in person? So, we wanted to make sure we could bring in all the best plus-size brands, like ASOS, Dia&Co [and] Loft, and have them bring stuff in person so that we wouldn't have to buy it online. And then, we also wanted to bring in the most epic influencers, YouTubers, and celebrities for important conversations. We follow these people online, we follow the hashtags, [but] what if we all got in one room to do the whole body positivity thing together, what would we get? That's what we were looking to do,” CeCe explains to Teen Vogue.
The concept behind the event is a no-brainer, considering plus-size women make up 67% of the population and have a buying power valued at $20.4 billion. Ignoring the plus-size community is not only discriminatory, it’s financially unwise. Retailers are finally starting to see the value in partnering with platforms such as the Curvy Con to serve plus-size shoppers in a way they haven’t before. “Think about ten years ago, there were probably about maybe seven to ten [plus-size] brands. Now, we have probably over 70, but it's still uncharted territory for the most part. In the 2000s, everything was stretchy and [made from] jersey [material] because they didn't know how to fit the [plus] customer. A lot of designers aren't educated in how to fit plus-size women. We're excited about the brands that put in the extra work and effort to jump through all those hoops and still serve plus-size women. Hopefully, other brands will start to take notice after,” Chastity says.
This year’s keynote speaker was none other than Oscar-nominated actress, director, and author Gabourey Sidibe who spoke to show attendees about her career trajectory and her relationship with fashion throughout the years. For her first major red carpet appearance at Cannes, she tells the crowd, she had to buy an affordable black dress from Torrid since no one offered to dress her, a common experience that still happens today. Designers, she tells Teen Vogue, often won't give her clothes because she's "too fat."
While Gabourey doesn’t attend many New York Fashion Week shows because of her busy schedule, she jumped at the opportunity to take part in a platform that champions women like herself who still feel ignored by retailers and mainstream media and made out to be lesser than for their physicality. “Even though we are moving towards more visibility for plus-size people, there is a lot [of] pushback. So it’s important to keep fighting [and] to keep being visible until the conversation changes and [it] is no longer about our bodies because I'm not my body. I'm a whole person,” she says before hitting the main stage wearing a white, body-hugging look from one of her favorite brands, Eloquii.
In three years, the Curvy Con has grown tremendously. In fact, it outgrew its original venue and was moved to a bigger location this time around. It’s easy to see why: the convention is a place where all shapes and sizes — not just hourglass or thin figures — are not only welcomed, but truly celebrated. It's a much-needed respite during NYFW where so often plus-size women feel excluded for their size. “We're not going [to] elevate and celebrate only certain women, we're [making] sure that all women are represented on the Curvy Con stage so all Curvy Con attendees can see themselves at one point,” CeCe stresses.
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