Braving the rain and COVID-19, several hundred plus-size women marched at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday to demand more diversity in fashion and help people accept themselves.
Under the gray Parisian sky and in cool temperatures, good humor was at the rendezvous on this masked “All sizes catwalk” (podium for all sizes) of the “body positive” movement, terms borrowed from Anglo-Saxon culture.
Round models, but also slim, small, with atypical morphologies, mainly dressed in lingerie and nighties, swayed at the Trocadéro, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. A few male models joined them on the catwalk.
“This parade was a real challenge: 500 models braved the restrictions and the virus, and came from all over France and Belgium, thus proving that the movement is gaining momentum”, welcomed Georgia Stein, iron of launches the “body positive” movement in France, which was the fourth edition.
“It is a movement of benevolence for oneself and for others, whatever their age, their morphology, their handicap, the disease. Anything can happen in life and you feel bad about yourself. This movement is there to help you, ”she told AFP.
The models were dressed by Chinese brand Shein. “A French brand, I have not found, I would have liked” !, she said, judging however that things are starting to move in France in advertising campaigns and even on the catwalks of Fashion week.
In March, Chanel paraded a size 40 model whose “normal” appearance stood out among skinny young women.
If Jean Paul Gaultier was “body positive” before the hour, young people, like the French designer Jacquemus, have taken up the torch, welcomes Georgia Stein.
“All fights take time. In two years we have evolved enormously, it proves that people need this movement, to recognize themselves in it, to accept themselves, and to feel happy, ”she believes.
Amélie Dore, 30, professor of higher education, proudly wore a lace set highlighting her curves during this parade, to prove that “all women are beautiful”.
“I’m super proud to be here,” testified Christina Constantin, a 27-year-old travel agent who wore a nude bra and black joggers printed with rabbits, the Playboy magazine logo. “We are women and we take responsibility for ourselves! “
Dawson Barba, a 30-year-old saleswoman, discovered the “body positive” through social media and is on her first show.
“It’s a great joy,” says the young woman wearing black and green lace panties and bra. His way of protesting against a society that cultivates “standardized” beauty.
