The Vogue Business Spring/Summer 2025 size inclusivity report

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There was very limited progress in size inclusivity this season, our exclusive research has found — a fact that will come as no surprise to those who watched the shows. The body positivity movement has lost steam in mainstream culture as the pendulum has swung back to the glamorisation of thinness, amid the rising use of Ozempic and the subsequent shrinking of celebrities and influencers. And, as predicted, this showed up on the Spring/Summer 2025 runways.

The Vogue Business size inclusivity report showed a plateau in size inclusivity efforts across New York, London, Milan and Paris. Of the 8,763 looks presented across 208 shows and presentations, 0.8 per cent were plus-size (US 14+), 4.3 per cent were mid-size (US 6-12) and 94.9 per cent were straight-size (US 0-4). Plus-size representation is level with last season, at 0.8 per cent. Mid-size representation has inched up from 3.7 per cent — partly driven by the use of muscular men in co-ed shows, who typically present as mid-size. But there also appeared to be more straight-size models at the extremely thin end of the scale.

There was also a continued decline in plus and mid-size representation from some of fashion’s most prominent luxury brands. “For me, it was the worst season in a long time,” says Emma Davidson, fashion features director at Dazed, who has reported on size inclusivity (or lack thereof) in fashion for a number of years. “It has felt like brands were turning their back on inclusive casting for a while, but this season, I sat in my seat a few times at shows where bigger models had previously been present, and it was so disheartening to see no representation — this season feels like the nail in the coffin.”

As with previous seasons, Vogue Business analysed every runway show and presentation featured on Vogue Runway from the official New York, London, Milan and Paris schedules to calculate the proportion of total looks that are straight, mid and plus-size. Brands were contacted to allow them to verify the data and informed that if they did not respond, the initial figures collected by Vogue Business would be used. Sizing ranges were determined based on typical sample sizes for straight sizing and established definitions of mid and plus-size.

City by city, body diversity is propped up by emerging names

In Paris, Ester Manas topped the ranking as in previous seasons. Out of 28 looks, the show featured nine mid-size (25 per cent) and seven plus-size (31.1 per cent) models. The show, entitled ‘The Elephant in the Room’, featured an inflatable elephant on the runway. As Vogue Runway’s Nicole Phelps reported, the mood board featured images by Helmut Newton, an “Ozempic Games” message tee, and a telling phrase: “Should I over-explain myself or remain misunderstood?” The elephant in the room is that they’re a size-inclusive brand in a country where a US 6/EU 38 is considered curvy, the designer told Phelps. “It’s a very trendy and sensitive topic, but that’s our elephant,” she said. “We didn’t necessarily want to talk about it; we just wanted to make clothes for everyone.”

Rick Owens came second in the ranking for Paris. The designer has prioritised body diversity in his casting in recent seasons, and this season out of 56 looks, 19 were mid-size and nine were plus-size. There were some notable changes to the Paris ranking this season among bigger brands. Mugler, a mainstay on the ranking since its runway return for AW23, did not feature any mid or plus-size models this season. In its first show following Virginie Viard’s departure, Chanel re-entered the ranking this season (for the first time since AW23) with 3.9 per cent mid-size and 1.3 per cent plus-size looks, casting curve models including Jill Kortleve and Alva Claire. Some new names on the Paris schedule were in the city’s top 10, including Abra (fourth), who featured 11.4 per cent mid-size and 2.9 per cent plus-size looks, and Danish import Ganni (fifth), which featured 11.1 per cent mid-size looks.

Since Vogue Business started reporting size inclusivity data, body diversity has been lacking in Milan. This season is no different. We couldn’t create a top 10, because only nine shows featured at least one mid-size or plus-size model. Just 0.3 per cent of looks were plus-size, 1.7 per cent of looks were mid-size, meaning 98 per cent of looks were straight-size on the Milan runways.

Sunnei, which cast older models this season to celebrate its 10th anniversary, was the most size-inclusive show overall in Milan, with a third of its cast being mid-size. The models were street cast from London and Milan. “We wanted to showcase their unfiltered beauty rather than any stereotypical sciura [glamorous Milanese elderly person] effect. The final outcome reflects the brand 100 per cent,” founders Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina said over email.

Boss came in second overall in Milan, featuring 14.6 per cent mid-size and 1.8 per cent plus-size looks, placing it second, with a star-studded cast including Italian swimmer Nicolò Martinenghi, American tennis player Taylor Fritz, Thai actor and singer-songwriter Mew Suppasit and ES Magazine editor Ben Cobb (the brand declined to confirm the sizes of the models, but many of the mid-size models Vogue Business counted were male talent). Swedish label Rave Review, which topped the Milan ranking last season, ranked fourth place this time around, with three mid-size looks out of 25 (12 per cent) and no plus-size.

Marco Rambaldi, who ranked third in Milan for overall diversity, had the highest level of plus-size representation at four plus-size looks, representing 9.1 per cent of total looks shown (followed by Tokyo James with 2.5 per cent plus-size representation and Max Mara with 2.1 per cent, as well as one plus-size look each). Rambaldi’s casting this season, which also featured three mid-size looks (6.8 per cent), was intended to be a celebration of the beauty of bodies considered “different”, he says, “in defence of the queer and plus-size community”.

“Inclusion for us is something completely natural; it has been part of the brand’s DNA since it was conceived in 2017. Making fashion for us has to do with the social, the political and the issue of equal gender rights,” says Rambaldi. “Unfortunately, I think inclusion was treated like any other trend; it was probably convenient then. We proudly continue on our way, doing what we think is right. The brand was born around the community surrounding us and, therefore, from the desire to give a voice and an aesthetic to these people who perhaps did not feel represented before.”

In New York, mid-size representation grew from 3.1 per cent last season to 5.5 per cent this season. Of the 59 brands that showed at NYFW and were counted in the report, 27 featured at least one mid-size look. Plus-size representation was stagnant at 0.8 per cent.

Many of the top-ranking shows in New York achieved their position by casting more muscular male models at the lower end of the mid-size range. Only four of the top 10 New York brands included any plus-size talent at all — Bach Mai, Willy Chavarria, Rio and PH5 — compared to six out of 10 last season. A handful of usual mainstays on the top 10 for NYFW dropped off the list this season, including Elena Velez and Eckhaus Latta, who included no plus or mid-size models this season, as well as Christian Siriano and Batsheva, who did not show. Bach Mai topped the NYFW size inclusivity chart again this season for the fourth time in a row, with 33.3 per cent mid-size looks and 18.5 per cent plus-size.

London, as usual, was the most size inclusive fashion week of the ‘big four’, due to its heavy saturation of emerging, more progressive talent. London-based designer Karoline Vitto took the top spot this season as the only designer to feature 100 per cent mid or plus-size looks (72.7 per cent mid-size and 27.5 per cent plus-size). When asked backstage after her show about the slowing of size inclusivity, Vitto was firm in her approach. “I wouldn’t do it differently; I’ve never considered it because it’s not who I am. I’m designing for someone who looks a little bit like me. I need to have the experience of trying the pieces on — I can’t just make something without understanding how that’s going to feel on the body,” Vitto said.

Chopova Lowena’s approach to casting is more focused on the portrayal of particular characters. The brand — which ranked second in London, with 68.8 per cent mid-size looks and 4.1 per cent plus-size looks — works with founder Sarah Small at casting agency Good Catch and often casts its fellow fashion community. “We usually send our research and [Small] puts together these amazing decks of the most amazing people that look like our references,” founders Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena said over email. Its casting decisions this season were inspired by gymnastics and the Victorian-era American West and included friends such as Ssense’s lead editor Alex Kessler, buyer Calvin Holmes and head of content Steff Yotka’s dad, alongside Team GB gymnast Becky Downie.

Ozempic and a return to size zero

This season, there was such a lack of curve representation that brands with just one mid-size look are making the city-by-city top 10 rankings. And as the population as a whole gets thinner — particularly in the celebrity/fashion world — we’re seeing straight-size models sizing down to what many deem unhealthy proportions, reigniting the criticisms over heroin chic and size zero in the ’90s and noughties. Vogue Business, Dazed, The Telegraph and scores of publications noted the shift this time last year. This season, it’s been even more pronounced.

Much of this can be put down to Ozempic, a GLP-1 drug initially designed for diabetes that has gained popularity as a weight loss drug (alongside equivalents such as Mounjaro and Wegovy). Ozempic was previously quite expensive and mostly the preserve of celebrities and influencers, but it is now becoming increasingly cheaper and accessible (Bank of America expects about a seventh of the US population to be on GLP-1s by 2030). Analysts predict reduced demand for bigger sizes as the drug hits mainstream use. And we’re even seeing a rise in weight loss influencers running ads for Ozempic online.

“The last couple of seasons, I’ve emailed agents when I’ve seen models come in because I’ve been like, ‘Why is this girl at a casting?’” says casting director Emma Matell, who worked on shows across London, Milan and Paris this season. “I feel shocked, [increasingly] girls come in, and you can tell they’re unwell. They’re exhausted, shivering, or their lips are blue. I’ve emailed agents saying, ‘This is not OK.’” When there was a size inclusivity boom around 2019 and 2023, it was reflected in the health of the girls that were straight-size, she adds. But now, it’s a vicious circle. As sizes on the runway dwindle, in the highly competitive modelling industry, models are feeling they should lose weight to be able to succeed.

Several major houses cast extremely thin models this season, which a few editors noted. It’s also being picked up on TikTok. One video featuring a model from SS25, captioned “the skinniest model ever”, garnered 160,000 views and 26,300 likes on TikTok. The comments included “high fashion is back”; “goals” and “aspirational”.

“Despite this season feeling really exciting from a clothing point of view, I couldn’t enjoy it fully because of the lack of body diversity on the runway,” says Tora Northman, head of TikTok at Highsnobiety. “Certain models definitely felt too thin, and it was brought up multiple times in conversations with editors and the fashion crowd attending the shows. It is clear that there were noticeably thinner bodies on the runway, and that it caused a reaction. It’s sad to see an industry that made a lot of progress over the past few years revert back to the toxic, unhealthy ways of the past, but it feels like those in charge still see being thin as being beautiful and being more ‘fashion’.”

“I don’t think thinness ever became less compelling for brands,” Davidson says. “I guess body diversity was just a trend and as soon as one or two have gone back to what they were doing before, everyone has followed. Budgets are being cut. We’re seeing that across the runways; stripped back sets, stripped back invites, stripped back ad campaigns. I think money is so tight that they can’t be bothered to think about [size inclusive casting].” Because brands typically cast a small group of very high-profile curve models like Paloma Elsesser, Jill Kortleve and Claire, if they’re reducing casting budgets and featuring unknowns to save money, they’re less likely to include curve models, she adds.

“There was a moment a couple of years ago when things looked really great and it felt like there was a standard that we finally all had,” says stylist Vittoria Cerciello, who works on shows and campaigns across all four cities. “This season we went back to very tiny models and basically zero body inclusivity. The big houses cast one or two plus or mid-size supermodels and then everyone else is extremely thin again.”

What can be done?

Editors, casting agents and stylists agree the industry needs to address both the lack of representation and the increasing thinness of models on the runway. But what can be done?

Matell points to her native Denmark, where in 2015, models health regulations were updated so that they’re now screened for mental and physical health before they can be cast, screening “for risk behaviour or an actual eating disorder”. The Danish ethical fashion charter, which all brands must adhere to in order to show at Copenhagen Fashion Week, states designers should be “aware of and take responsibility for the impact the fashion industry has on body ideals, especially on young people”. Vogue Business doesn’t collect data for Copenhagen every season, but last year found it was drastically more size inclusive than any of the big four, with Matell noting that she rarely has to call agents for concerns over the health of Danish models that come in to be cast.

France implemented regulations in 2017 stating that fashion models would need to provide medical certificates proving they are over a certain BMI in order to work. This means models must go to a doctor (arranged by their agency or the casting agent if street cast) to secure a certificate of health before walking the runway. The British Fashion Council piloted a similar scheme in 2016, which was then scrapped because “the approach is not uniform and does not include a thorough health assessment, so is not an effective tool for the UK”, it wrote in a report.

Vogue Business reached out to the big four fashion councils to ask what regulations and policies they have in place for model health. The Council of Fashion Designers of America pointed to its Initiative for Health, Safety and Diversity, formed in 2007, which advises brands around model health and eating disorders (that year, the Model Health Inquiry launched an investigation into eating disorders in the modelling industry, spurred by the deaths of two young models, eventually publishing a report called ‘Fashioning a Healthy Future’). Points in the CFDA’s initiative include: “Models who are identified as having an eating disorder should be required to seek professional help, and models who are receiving professional help for an eating disorder should not continue modelling without that professional’s approval.” Camera della Moda Italiana, the British Fashion Council and Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode had not responded by the time of publishing.

There are a number of organisations and trade unions across the industry that are working to protect models’ mental and physical health, including trade association British Fashion Model Agents Association (BFMA) and model trade union Equity in the UK, alongside Model Alliance in the US, among others. Equity’s industrial official Karrim Jalali urged the industry to contact the union if they see “any agent, employer or hirer demand — or encourage — models to undertake activities that put those models’ health or safety at significant risk”.

BFMA founding member and chairman John Horner, who is also managing director of agency Models 1, points to an organisation it works with called Be Well Collective, which is run by a qualified nutritionist and advisors to offer advice and information on eating disorders and mental health issues. “All our members attend a specially designed eating disorder workshop to ensure we are as well versed in the matter and able to spot adverse situations,” Horner says.

Model Alliance has been lobbying for legislation, including the 2013 Child Model Act, which extended labour protections to models under 18 in New York; the 2018 Talent Protections Act, which requires agencies in California to provide information on sexual harassment and eating disorders to their talent; and the Fashion Workers Act in May 2024, which gives models in New York access to workplace protection (Model Alliance is currently pushing for the Fashion Workers Act to be signed into law).

“Model Alliance continues to hear from models about the pressures they face to go to dangerous extremes to alter their appearances at the expense of their health and well-being. Models of all shapes and sizes still lack meaningful protections, leaving them vulnerable to abuse,” says Model Alliance founder and executive director Sara Ziff. “The modelling industry’s ultra-thin ideal is a labour rights issue. Models on the runway appear to be glamorous, but often they are young women and girls who lack basic rights and protections as workers.”

The shrinking of runway models, as well as the decline in curve representation, is an issue that regulations alone cannot fix, industry insiders say. It’s time for brands to uphold their side of the bargain and work to cast healthy models, while prioritising size inclusivity on the runway, so models don’t feel thinness is the only way to get ahead.

“Why is there not a system that protects the people that are having to attend castings?” asks Matell. “Models can walk into a room and be rejected 10 to 15 times in one day. If that happens to you, you’re going to want to change yourself. Next season you’re going to want it to go better. And looking at the runway right now, you might think that means losing weight.”

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