Melodie Michelberger: "Fat people are deliberately marginalized by fashion companies"

Bodyshaming - Melodie Michelberger: "Fat people are deliberately marginalized by fashion companies"

Ms. Michelberger, the fashion world likes to boast that it has finally become more diverse. There are said to be more models of different skin colors on the catwalks, as well as more fashion for plus sizes. Are we finally seeing a change? I wish we were. Unfortunately, there's not much left of the much-celebrated diversity. A few years ago, it was all the rage to show curvy women in advertising campaigns or on catwalks, which made models like Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser famous worldwide. Unfortunately, plus size and BIPoC models have been seen less and less recently. According to an analysis by Vogue Business magazine, less than one percent of catwalk models at the summer 2024 shows had a plus-size figure. That means 99 percent still wear a very small dress size. What kind of society is this supposed to represent?

How diverse are German high streets?Unfortunately, hardly anything has changed here either. The great diversity that we see when we sit down on a bench in the city center and watch the people walking past is still not reflected in the clothing sizes on offer. For women, anything over a size 44 is still in short supply. Even the models in the big advertising campaigns are still mainly white, very young and very thin. Many brands have also banned their XXL range from stores and only offer it online. This makes it really difficult for people over a certain size to find suitable clothing.

Inyour opinion, what's behind this?Many brands argue that fashion sells better online and takes up too much space in stores. That is difficult to understand. After all, retailers like H&M have huge flagship stores. This gives the impression that larger customers are not wanted in some stores.

You mean that customers of a large size are deliberately excluded?yes, that is the only explanation for me. Fat people are unwanted, they are deliberately excluded by fashion companies. Fatphobia is omnipresent. Of course, no one says so. That's why people prefer to put forward flimsy reasons, such as a lack of demand or that it takes too much effort to produce.

If you look around in other countries,you will come across brands that manage to produce the same dress in XXS as in 4XL. Their size range doesn't end at XL or size 44. Brands such as Ganni from Denmark, Rixo from the UK and Mara Hoffman from the USA do away with special lines with shapeless tents that hang separately in a niche somewhere. They simply make cool fashion for every size.

The size chart of many fashion suppliers usually ends at 44, but that is precisely the average size of German women. Why has this gap in the market been ignored for years? The fashion industry is producing without taking reality into account. The catwalks may be dominated by thin models, but our society looks different. I wear a size 44/46 myself, even if it surprises some people: it's the standard size in Germany. I'm average - but the fashion world labels me as a special case.

When was the last time you strolled through the shopping streets of your home town of Hamburg? Although I only live a few minutes away from Hamburg city center, I haven't been shopping there for years. Why should I? I don't enjoy getting the feeling that I'm not wanted. Because neither the big fashion brands like Zara and Other Stories have anything in their range that would fit me, nor can I find anything at Alsterhaus. L or XL is often the limit. That's why I order almost everything online. More and more often I hear from mom friends that even children suffer from size pressure.

You have to explain that. It's particularly difficult with children because clothing sizes are determined by height. As if all 116 cm tall children had exactly the same body shape. In addition, there is the distinction between girls' and boys' clothing, as girls' clothes are often cut much narrower than boys' clothes. The bodies hardly differ until puberty. Here, too, you can see the influence of the prevailing ideal of slimness, which already applies to young girls. Kids are taught from an early age that we live in a system that values bodies differently.

The Italian teenage brand Subdued also focuses on small sizes. Their size chart even ends at M. What consequences do you see in this? This is a fatal signal because it makes it unmistakably clear that girls of a certain dress size are not wanted there. Teenagers in particular take their cue from their peer group and want to wear exactly what's fashionable to fit in. Young people who don't fit into the few small sizes are deliberately excluded by Subdued. This size system is no coincidence. The brand has made a conscious decision not to produce clothing for large or fat teenagers. Which is quite a statement. This indirectly signals to teenage girls that they have to have a certain body shape if they want to wear this brand and be one of the trendy girls.

Likes it colorful: Melodie Michelberger in a summer dress in front of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg

The approach is reminiscent of the scandal surrounding former Abercrombie & Fitch boss Mike Jeffries, who once said: "We want to sell our clothes to good-looking, cool people." A phrase that ruined the brand's shiny image...Yes, you might think you've never heard of Abercrombie & Fitch at Subdued. In fact, the sales pitch is the same. The Italian brand also only wants to attract a very narrow target group and exclude everyone else. This is also evident on Instagram. Here, posts are shown of young girls in sometimes very skimpy subdued outfits. Underneath the pictures is #subduedgirls, the hashtag for the community feeling.

What can this lead to?Being a teenager is a difficult age, especially when you run the risk of developing an eating disorder. Some time ago, I attended a very informative panel event on the care perspectives of affected patients in Hamburg. The Hamburg eating disorder center Waage e. V. had invited me. A representative of the DAK presented the children and young people's report. According to the report, eating disorders among 15 to 17-year-old girls increased by 54 percent between 2019 and 2021. This is an alarmingly high figure. In addition to the pandemic, unrealistic body ideals in the media and advertising were cited as reasons, as was the supposed flawlessness on social media platforms.

What responsibility does fashion bear? Of course, you can't say that a piece of clothing that is too tight will immediately make you anorexic. But the fashion industry is part of the problem. It holds on to a long outdated ideal of beauty and continues to determine what we generally perceive as beautiful. Yet very few women around the world fit this ideal and are naturally tall and very thin. Yet the fashion and beauty industry has been clinging to this fat-free ideal woman for decades. It not only sells us the latest lipstick, but also a lifestyle. Fortunately, this restrictive body ideal is cracking and I hope we can bring it down for good. So that more women and girls can feel comfortable in their bodies in the future.

What needs to change?Many manufacturers could take an example from brands like Ganni or Rixo, where the sizes only go up to 52/54, but that's a good start and gives me hope for more. Plus size fashion should be seen as an opportunity for more inclusivity. This will not only benefit customers, but also fashion brands. In times of declining consumption, who can turn down a new target group?