This story is from December 5, 2014

Nothing stops these showstoppers

Fashion shows this year challenged the norms of beauty by using differently-abled models to walk the ramp. We look at some of these models in India and abroad through 2014
Nothing stops these showstoppers
Fashion shows this year challenged the norms of beauty by using differently-abled models to walk the ramp. We look at some of these models in India and abroad through 2014
The ramps and fashion shows around the world are filled with tall, graceful and skinny models with perfect features. Models who make you want to quit eating and run to the plastic surgeon. You are supposed to want to look like them, be like them, that is, after all, the definition of a model.
However, there is a change just around the corner, it seems. A revolution, if you will, which might put an end to this cookie-cutter model business. We are talking about the new breed of models, the so-called outcasts of the fashion industry, who are becoming the next big thing with every designer, worth his/her salt, looking for a hatke showstopper for their collection. These ‘socially conscious’ designers are challenging the preconceived notions of beauty with the deviant showstoppers – from plus sized to physically challenged models. The very recent example of this trend is Laxmi Shah, the acid attack survivor, who walked the ramp for the India Runway Week in September. Looking internationally, we have the London Fashion Week showcasing its first ever plus-size fashion show.
Differently-abled
Crutches and wheelchairs on the ramp? No, this wasn’t a charity fashion show by an old age home. Making a statement that made the fashion world sit up and take notice, the Fashion Without Borders show in March this year at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Moscow, featured a collection especially designed for people with physical disabilities.
Models in wheelchairs and leg braces stormed the ramp with the confidence of a seasoned model, introducing the notion that the differently-abled belong on the runway just as much as anyone else. The show aimed to send the message to the world that fashion could not be handicapped by society’s beauty norms. This initiative by various designers called ‘Models Without Borders’ aimed at increasing awareness in the fashion industry about disabilities and was part of the fashion week that featured over 30 designers.

Another designer who has taken upon herself to use “role models and not runway models” is Carrie Hammer. Carrie, who designs clothes for working women, featured the first model in a wheelchair, Danielle Sheypuk, in the New York Fashion Week this February. Inspired by this bold move at one the biggest fashion platforms in the world, Karen Crespo, an amputee who lost all her limbs to bacterial meningitis, wrote an email to Hammer. Crespo wrote, “I have a passion for fashion. I hope one day, I will get to show the world ‘Why can’t people with disabilities, people like me, be beautiful and model?’ Maybe one day, if I ever get to go to New York, I will be able to meet you.” This led to Crespo becoming the first-ever quadruple amputee to be a part of the New York Fashion Week, as she walked the ramp for Hammer in September.
A recent initiative closer home by various budding designers gave hope that, in the near future, India too can have similar shows. Keeping in mind the fact that comfort is the first priority when designing clothes for those with physical disabilities, earlier this year, students of NIFT, Chennai got together with Ability Foundation, a non-profit organisation, to design clothes to suit the differently-abled. This initiative called the Inclusive Fashion aims to take forward sensitive and empathetic fashions, suited to the physical limitations of persons with disabilities. The students worked with four people with disabilities and the effort concluded with a fashion show where they walked the ramp, showcasing the line.
The survivors
Perfection is the first thing people look for in a model. Perfect height, perfect features and perfect skin. So, who would’ve thought that in an appearance-obsessed country like ours, an acid attack survivor would walk the ramp – as nothing less than the showstopper, nothing less. Challenging the predominant perception of perfection this year, was the India Runway Week. The showstopper for the first collection of the fashion week was Laxmi Shah. Laxmi, 26, is an acid attack survivor and activist, who was attacked at the age of 16 for refusing the advances of a 32-year-old man. The show featured the collection of Dolly J and Kirti Rathore and was aimed to compliment today’s modern and strong women.
In another move that flouted the norm, Laxmi was part of a photo shoot which featured five acid attack survivors. The shoot caught the attention of the fashion industry as well as media around the globe.
And this wasn’t a one-off incident. In August last year, another acid attack survivor, Sonali Mukherjee, walked the ramp for the Indian International Jewellery Show in Mumbai. In the show, supported by NGO Beti, she took to the runway to create awareness and raise money for other acid attack survivors.
Resizing the runway
You probably think that size zero is the unsaid requirement to be a model. And we wouldn’t blame you, after all, we keep hearing debates about these anorexic models promoting unhealthy body images and setting unrealistic standards for young girls. The need to change this perception is being recognised globally and designers are finally accepting the need to feature models who look like the regular girls-next-door and that beauty is not defined by a dress size.
For the first time, this year’s London Fashion Week featured a plus-size fashion show. The September 16 show saw plus-size models walk the ramp for a popular British retailer Evans, in creations that included reworked styles from top designers’ main collections. Sir Philip Green, CEO of the brand, told a website, “This is a big and important part of the market, and we need to be seen to embrace it. You cannot ignore the market place And you can’t be defensive about it, or apologise about [plus-size fashion]. Why should the category be any different from petite?”
Although it was a first for London, plus-size shows have been gaining acceptance on international runways for a while, with the New York Fashion Week featuring its first plus-size show in September last year. The designer of the collection, Eden Miller, said that the creations should be judged on the basis of merit and not seen as a fluke. She said to a website, “I’m not going to walk in with garbage and just say, ‘Well, I’m this plus-sized designer, you better be glad I’m here.”
While globally, the fashion circuit is accepting this resizing, India is not far behind. This year’s India Runway Week, held in April, featured a plus-size fashion show on its Day 2. Sandeep Aggarwal’s collection, Plus S, showcased formal and casual outfits for plus-size people. Actor Delnaz Irani, the showstopper of the creation, said the collection conveys the message that even plus-sized women can add that “spice, zing and glamour to their look.”
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