Body Diversity Revolutionizes Fashion Modeling
False Assumption: Featuring plus-size and midsize models on fashion runways advances body inclusivity and represents progressive values in the industry.
Written by FARAgent on February 11, 2026
Peer pressure from #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements pushed fashion designers to include plump black and plus-size models on runways. This peaked in 2021 with Paloma Elsesser on American Vogue's cover. Designers postured inclusivity despite preferences for thin models.
Body diversity declined sharply after 2021. Vogue Business reported only 2 percent midsize and 0.3 percent plus-size looks in fall 2025 shows. Labels like Nina Ricci dropped from multiple plus-size models in 2023 to one midsize in 2025. Thin models grew thinner, with visible ribs and collarbones.
Industry insiders link the reversal to waning wokeness under Trump scrutiny of DEI. Gay male designers reverted to traditional thin ideals. Critics like Model Alliance see it as a step back, but designers cite cultural shifts and drugs like Ozempic. Growing evidence suggests the diversity push was a temporary fad, not genuine commitment.
People Involved
- In the fashion world, designers and critics once pushed body diversity as a mark of progress.
- Harris Reed, known for his inclusive approach at Nina Ricci, featured plus-size models in his 2023 show but cut back sharply by 2025, with only one midsize model among 38 looks; growing evidence suggests this shift exposed the superficiality of such efforts [1].
- David Bonnouvrier, founder of DNA Model Management, noted how the industry swung toward diversity and then back, tied to broader cultural changes away from progressivism [1].
- Vanessa Friedman, a fashion critic at the New York Times, tracked this retreat, pointing out the so-called revolution's end as increasingly recognized as flawed [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“Judging from pictures of him, Harris Reed might be the gayest man alive:”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
““The pendulum went one way, and now it’s swinging full force the other way,” said David Bonnouvrier, a founder of DNA Model Management.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
“Why Ultrathin Is In When it comes to fashion models, the body diversity revolution appears to be at an end. By Vanessa Friedman”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
Organizations Involved
Fashion houses faced pressure to embrace body diversity but often reverted when the heat eased. Nina Ricci, under DEI influences, promoted inclusivity in shows like Harris Reed's 2023 presentation, yet by 2025, it featured mostly thin models, signaling a broader pullback [1]. Vogue Business reported on this decline, finding that in 8,703 looks across 198 shows, only 2 percent were midsize and 0.3 percent plus-size, highlighting an increasingly seen flaw in the diversity push [1]. The Model Alliance advocated for models' rights and body inclusivity but now notes the industry's retreat amid shifting politics, underscoring how such organizations sustained the assumption until external changes challenged it [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“Case in point: Nina Ricci, a label that under the designer Harris Reed has been known for its inclusivity, featured only one midsize model — out of 38. By contrast, Mr. Reed’s debut Nina Ricci show, in March 2023, opened with Precious Lee, a plus-size model, and included three more plus-size women in the show.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
“According to the Vogue Business fall 2025 size inclusivity report, of 8,703 looks in 198 shows and presentations, only 2 percent were midsize (defined as U.S. size 6 to 12) and only 0.3 percent were plus-size.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
“Sara Ziff, the founder of the Model Alliance, an organization that champions models’ rights, agreed. Extreme thinness among models is “not really new — this kind of thing is cyclical,” she said. But this time around, she added, “it seems to echo the current political climate.””— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
The Foundation
The assumption that body diversity advanced inclusivity rested on DEI and intersectionality theories, which framed featuring fat and black models as progressive steps. This seemed credible under media pressure, yet growing evidence suggests it was superficial, as designers always favored thin ideals for their visions [1]. The idea gained traction in an era of social movements, but its foundations are increasingly recognized as flawed, built more on temporary trends than lasting change [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Peer pressure to diversify the runway in the wake of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements led to a noticeable shift in conceptions of beauty, Mr. Bonnouvrier said. But with D.E.I. now under scrutiny as part of the Trump administration’s war on wokeness, its fashion expression, including diversity of size, is under pressure.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
How It Spread
The idea spread through social pressures from movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, which demanded runway diversity and enforced it via media outlets. Vogue covers amplified these calls, turning body diversity into a supposed revolution [1]. By 2021, the New York Times and other fashion media peaked in promoting it, creating widespread acceptance that is now increasingly seen as overstated [1]. Funding and social incentives kept the narrative alive, though dissent grew as political winds shifted [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Peer pressure to diversify the runway in the wake of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements led to a noticeable shift in conceptions of beauty”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
“After reaching a peak in 2021, when Paloma Elsesser became the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of American Vogue, body diversity has taken a clear downward trajectory”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
Resulting Policies
Under scrutiny from the Trump administration, fashion brands began abandoning DEI-driven size inclusivity mandates. This policy shift marked a retreat from earlier commitments to diverse casting [1]. Growing evidence suggests these mandates were more performative than substantive, as the industry reverted to traditional standards once external pressures lifted [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“with D.E.I. now under scrutiny as part of the Trump administration’s war on wokeness, its fashion expression, including diversity of size, is under pressure.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
Harm Caused
The push for body diversity led to superficial efforts that wasted resources on models who did not fit designers' visions or customers' desires for aspirational thinness. This mismatch highlighted inefficiencies in the approach [1]. Increasingly, it's recognized as a flawed strategy that diverted attention from core industry goals without delivering true inclusivity [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Couture designers never cared about diversity, equity, or inclusion. They care about money, fame, cocaine, style, originality, talent, and, occasionally, beauty.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
Downfall
The assumption started crumbling after 2021, as political shifts away from wokeness and Trump-era scrutiny exposed DEI efforts as posturing. The rise of Ozempic further enabled thinner models, breaking the diversity facade [1]. The Council of Fashion Designers of America had set BMI health standards in 2012 to promote well-being, but thinness returned dominant, signaling the cyclical failure of such initiatives [1]. Growing evidence suggests the body diversity revolution was always tenuous, increasingly seen as a temporary trend rather than a settled advance [1].
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“As much as anything, this is a cultural conversation,” Mr. Bonnouvrier said. With respect to model inclusivity, he said, brands “are walking away because of what is going on in the United States.””— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry
“Even in a world that has long prized the idea of bodies as coat hangers, there were more visible rib cages, jutting collarbones and daisy chains of vertebrae than have been seen since the concept of BMI and model health was introduced by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2012.”— Trump Side Effect #87: The gays have regained control of the fashion industry