The skinny on a size 6

MANILA, Philippines - You all know the drill: during the summer months (usually around March) every major fashion publication will come out with what is known as the “shape” issue. In it, you will be guided on how to “dress for your body type” (hardly ever useful), find a swimsuit that will hide your flaws and enhance your best assets (as if), and featuring a plus-sized model in the buff (totally didn’t see that one coming). It’s boring, predictable and, frankly speaking, just really insincere. Who are they kidding? The annual shape issue has always felt like some sort of consolation prize to curvier models, who are completely ignored for the rest of the year in favor of the long, lithe and limber ones — the very ones that make us put down our forks the minute we flip the page. Over and over again, the fashion industry has declared that it will use healthier-looking models, especially after reports surfaced of ramp models collapsing to their deaths on the catwalk a few years back. By “healthier,” of course, they really meant making the switch from double zero to just regular size zero models. Big whoop.

It wasn’t always like this, though. In the ‘90s, there was Cindy, Linda, Christy and Helena (if you have no idea who they are, spare me the age issue and get thee to Google). With their refusal to roll out of bed for less than $10,000 a day, they were goddesses — and they were all a snug US size six. By today’s standards, they would have been tossed into the plus-size category. (Bodacious underwear model Lara Stone, who famously told Vogue, “What they say is ‘curvy,’ but you know they mean fat,” is tinier than that.) How the mighty might have fallen. On the other end of the spectrum was the slight figure of Kate Moss, who continued Twiggy’s legacy by popularizing the heroine-chic standard that the industry still seems to abide by today. Since then, it’s been the missing cases of chests, hips and waistlines.

That is, until an entirely different Kate entered the frame by uploading a video of herself doing the Dougie on Youtube. Perhaps it was the sight of that healthy, bouncy 36D chest — pretty hefty, even for a swimsuit model. Or maybe it was the fact that she was laughing and having fun, a rarity among fashion types whose default faces are usually nonchalant, bored, or hungry. Then again, it really just might have been her huge… personality. Whatever it was, Kate Upton’s Dougie got seven million hits. And in just three years, Upton went from little-known Sports Illustrated model, who had made her obligatory rounds of the lad mags, to the fashion industry’s latest darling.

Supermodel, Thy Name Is Kate Upton

A note on Kate’s oft-discussed bod: in terms of size, she appears to be right in between a runway model and a plus-sized model, hence creating an entirely new category — “real” or “in-between” models. Of course, she can’t take all the credit for this; her predecessors must be acknowledged, such as Laetitia Casta, Crystal Renn (the formerly anorexic model whose weight fluctuated from a size zero to size 12, before settling into “in between” territory at a size eight), Doetzen Kroes, and pretty much every Victoria’s Secret Angel since Tyra and Heidi. All became household names in their own right as lingerie and SI models, but things really started to pick up in 2010 when major high-fashion labels like Prada and Louis Vuitton decided to go for voluptuous by booking the likes of Laetitia, Crystal and Doetzen.

The return of the buxom beauties of the ‘90s was announced right then — a bit preemptively, in retrospect. However, when we consider Kate Upton’s recent forays into high fashion, it might be safe to say that the revival is upon us. First, there was her career-changing profile in Vogue where they announced, “She may be arriving at exactly the right moment,” a statement supported by Michael Kors. “We went from big personalities on the runway to no personalities,” he said. “I think we have a new generation of designers who don’t understand why a Sports Illustrated model can’t be in the mix. I do think the old rules are tumbling.” Next was her beauty editorial for Interview Russia in which the main star of the spread was her hair — and nothing else below the neck — proving that she is more than just a body.

She followed that up with fashion editorials for Harper’s Bazaar and Contributor magazine, where she mixed sex, fashion and glam, while managing to keep it classy, not trashy. Now, there are rumors of her being the first cover girl of Carine Roitfeld’s highly-anticipated fashion tome, CR Fashion Book. Add these high-fashion gigs to her commercial ones for Guess, Dooney & Burke, and fast-food chain Carl’s Jr., not to mention her tongue-in-cheek appearance on SNL and bit roles on the big screen, and it appears that Kate has achieved the ubiquity and versatility required to truly become one of the greats.

Booty Backlash

But that’s not to say that her acceptance into the industry has been unanimous. Take, for instance, the comments of Victoria’s Secret casting director Sophia Neophitou. Given Kate’s slightly more generous proportions, she was a shoo-in for VS, but only for the catalog, not the runway show. “We would never use her. She’s like a footballer’s wife, with the too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy,” Sophie said. There was also some backlash from pro-ana and thinspo blogs who tried to fat-shame Kate by calling her a “cow,” “pornographic,” and (oh, yes) “a squishy brick.” Thankfully, it’s common knowledge that these people don’t eat enough to think properly and their comments have fallen on deaf ears, including Kate’s. “People told me I couldn’t be fashion, that I’m just an old-fashioned body girl, only good for swimwear. But I knew that I could bring back the supermodel,” she declared. If there’s one more thing Kate Upton has that other models don’t seem to, it’s gumption.        

But the era of the ‘90s supermodel was backed up by an entire clan of Amazonian queens who knew exactly how to wield their influence. Can Kate alone truly revolutionize an industry and speak volumes around the world in order to bring back the glory of thighs, breasts and an ass that goes on, as rappers so eloquently put it, for days? And hitting closer to home, will the trend ever catch on here? In terms of high fashion, Mega magazine creative director Suki Salvador has his doubts, saying, “In the next few years, I don’t see an emergence of curvy models both in the local and international scene for luxury or high fashion brands. In fact, I feel the model size will stay the same for women.” He sees things differently, though for the mass retail scene: “I hope to see curvier models for commercial brands because they target a much bigger market who will relate to a healthy or sporty size, similar to the US and Brazil.” Designer Veejay Floresca seems to agree. “Personally, I still prefer working with a slim model. Aside from the fact that they look good on stage, it gives an illusion that the dress can make the wearer thinner,” he explains.

On the other hand, PMAP vice president Mika Lagdameo-Martinez, herself sporting a more womanly figure after two children, has a different outlook. “Yes, definitely curvier models are slowly getting back into the scene, which is a good thing because the fashion industry has so much influence now, especially on young women. We want every woman to love their bodies, love their curves.” However Mika still admits that, “There is still a market for the lean and skinny, which I think will never fade. We have to admit that the clothes just fall perfectly on these body types.”

Photographer Mark Nicdao sees things differently and casts the blame on digital retouching. “In my opinion, we’ve embraced it already even before… it’s just that we didn’t notice because the curvy models we were using in shoots were Photoshopped to look gamine.” He concludes, though that it’s personality, not size, that counts. “It’s not really the model size. I guess it’s really the character that matters more than the size or height or look. It’s still the celebrity status that reigns now.” Illustrating his point are the likes of Iza Calzado and KC Concepcion. Though not strictly fashion models, the two are currently the biggest names in showbiz, despite having healthier and shapelier silhouettes, as opposed to the too-petite frames of young starlets and runway mainstays.

From Runway To Real Life

So what does any of this really mean for us, the women that these magazines and fashion designers supposedly cater to? Granted, with their extra boobage and relatively tiny waistlines, “real” models are still considered “aspirational” but at least they allow women to be a little more forgiving of those perceived “extra” 10 pounds — gorgeous as they are, even Crystal and Kate have got their fair share of wobbly bits. And by giving models like them the time of day, we’ll be giving the industry a better a idea of what we want to see.

Take it from the super to end all supers, Cindy Crawford: “I want to say that if people have a problem with designers or magazines using too-thin models, they should just stop buying the designers’ clothes or the magazines. Don’t buy them and then complain about it and feel bad about yourself! Use your power. Magazines will change if no one’s buying them, believe me.”

Vogue is certainly taking a step in a positive direction. As ambassadors of a healthy body image, they have published the Vogue Health Initiative Manifesto in which 19 international editors of the magazine have pledged not to work with models under 16 years old or who appear to have eating disorders, set up mentoring programs for mature models to guide young ‘uns, and encourage designers to “consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing.”

Hopefully, as with anything that makes waves internationally, this embrace of “in-between” models will reach our shores. Change may happen drastically or gradually, but as long as a shift in mindset occurs, “real” models will be able to do more than just passively accept having “a moment,” but be able instigate a lasting movement instead.