Catwalks can always be trusted to amaze us, and SS25 was no different. From Coperni’s lavish ballgowns to Chanel’s flowing silhouettes, there was much to capture a fashion lover’s imagination.
But, under a sea of tassels and ties, all I could see were the models’ startlingly slender waists and protruding collarbones, with arms as thin as reeds and legs like twin branches ready to snap.
And, I’m not alone in noticing this.
‘I haven’t seen this many models look so tired, frail and malnourished in over a decade,’ activist Jameela Jamil told Grazia. Adding: ‘It’s as if size diversity … was nothing more than a fever dream.’
From the Oscars to last month’s Fashion Week, there’s no getting away from structured silhouettes and design. But is history about to repeat itself for all the wrong reasons?
The Return of Size-Zero
The latest Vogue size inclusivity report analysed SS25 catwalks in New York, London, Paris and Milan. It revealed that 95 per cent of models were UK size 6 and under, and a measly 0.8 were plus-size (UK 18 or above). These figures are almost identical to last year. All in all, there has been little progress when it comes to size inclusivity in the fashion world and other industries. Rather, a regression has been gaining momentum.
New York, London and Milan Fashion Week hit their peak back in September 2023, when record numbers of plus-size models made their appearance on the catwalk. Around the same time, Lizzo won Record of the Year at the Grammys and actresses like Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan stepped into the limelight. But less than two years on, these events now feel like a lifetime ago.
‘Higher-end designers looked at curvier women … as a fad in fashion,’ says Anna Shillinglaw, founder of model agency Milk Management.
What Went Wrong?
Instead of creating lasting change, the body positivity movement became just another trend. So, what went wrong? For those who don’t know, the body positive movement promotes the idea that all bodies are beautiful, no matter their shape or size. Whilst its roots date back to the ’60s, you’ll probably be most familiar with its modern, digital form, which took off after the rise of the internet. Social media brought body positivity to the masses in the 2010s and plus-size activists, like poet Sonya Renee Taylor and blogger Stephanie Yeboah, garnered huge followings. #BoPo became an internet buzzword. In the real world, curvy models were finally on the cover of Vogue and shapely pop stars were topping the charts.
But now all that hard-won progress has come to a standstill. Most industry experts, including the Editor of British Vogue Chioma Nnadi, are pointing their fingers at weight loss drugs. Ozempic was first authorised for use in the EU in 2018 as a way to treat type II diabetes. When it became apparent that it enabled patients to lose weight rapidly, a drug with a more concentrated dose of semaglutide, known as Wegovy, was approved in 2021. However, what was once a form of medication to treat obesity has now become the plaything of celebrities looking for a quick fix to lose weight. From the rise of ‘Ozempic arms’ to the return of the 1950s ‘ultra-svelte’ look, stars appear more and more emaciated with each new red carpet event. Perhaps the best person to have captured our current mood is Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, who labelled the first awards ceremony of 2025 as ‘Ozempic’s biggest night.’ We’re laughing now, but there’s no denying how problematic this is.
Celebrities have huge followings and an enormous influence on culture. When our social media feeds are flooded with images of stars who are suddenly far slimmer than they were months ago, we develop the idea that we should be able to achieve similar weight loss results. Celebrities epitomise what it means to be desirable, so when we no longer see a diverse range of body types in film, on catwalks or social media, ordinary people will become insecure about their weight. Ozempic has caused a cultural shift in how we view our bodies, marginalising mid- and plus-size folk and driving them to seek illegitimate weight loss injections.
This cultural shift has also heralded the rise of ‘skinny influencers’ like Liv Schmidt, who built herself a digital empire by promoting ‘how to lose weight and stay skinny forever’ content to her 135,000 followers. Some call her videos ‘triggering,’ as she claims to consume less than 800 calories a day — the NHS recommends 2,000kcal for adult women — resulting in her TikTok account being banned for defying community guidelines. Others have accused Schmidt’s Skinny Group Community Chat, which costs $9.99 a month to use, of preying on its members’ desire to achieve the perfect body.
Body Reflexivity
But how did the body positive movement, whose sole aim was to help people love their bodies, dwindle so quickly? Surely, after decades of research into body image and self-esteem, we now know how harmful promoting unrealistic thinness can be. Interestingly, a study from 2022 reveals exactly why the body positivity movement was doomed from the start. Researchers from Clarkson University found that ‘pro-body messages are not beneficial to body image,’ as forcing ourselves to feel relentlessly positive about our bodies can be equally as toxic as hating them.
If we are to overcome our dangerous obsession with weight, we need to pioneer a new way of thinking: body reflexivity. It’s a term coined by Professor Kate Manne, author of Unshrinking, which means viewing ourselves and others with an ‘uncritical lens’ by ‘cease[ing] to assess bodies altogether.’ It’s a mental state where we neither force ourselves to view our bodies as beautiful, nor let self-criticism get the better of us. Instead, we understand that we exist for ourselves and not for other people.
When the body positive movement caved in on itself, glamorous emancipation filled the void. If we are to prevent history from repeating itself, we must liberate ourselves from this vicious cycle by embracing the idea that we should be content with our bodies. That we are enough.
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