Body-Positive Fashion

Becca McCharen-Tran, a celebrated inclusive fashion desginer, discusses the impact that fashion designers have on which bodies are celebrated and considered beautiful by mainstream society -- specifically thin, white, cisgender, able-bodied women. This conventional beauty ideal is reinforced in the fashion world at every point; starting at the stretched out, anatomically inproportionated sketches to the size 4 mannequins designers create their pieces on, and by showing this, McCharen-Tran unveils the need for these practices to evolve. McCharen-Tran claims that the platform these designers have is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly as it can have serious impacts on the mental and physical health of our society. McCharen-Tran illustrates this by discussing her struggles with eating disorders and she is not alone in her previous struggles with her body image. She cites a recent study that states 91% of all women are unhappy with the way they look.

McCharen-Tran goes on to say that size should not be the only inclusive focus we set our sights on, but age, gender, ethnicity, and different ability levels. She points to her own brand, Chromat, that specifically seeks varied and diverse models to showcase her fashion on the runway to empower society through perfectly fitting garments for all bodies. Lastly, this diversity does not stop at the models cast, but at all the other contributors including makeup artists, photographers, and even interns for a "holistically inclusive output." She finishes by stating: "its not your body that needs to change -- it's your clothes."