Annika Nielsen distinctly remembers watching plus-size model Ashley Graham appear in a music video with Joe Jonas.<\/p>\n
“It’s such a strong moment in time for me to think back to.”<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old describes herself as a curve model and content creator, and says representation is sometimes “something that you don’t realise that you miss or that you need until you see it”.<\/p>\n
Ashley Graham was among the winged models in Victoria’s Secret’s most recent fashion show.<\/p>\n
Marie Claire Australia called it “one of the label’s most joy-filled (and almost most diverse) line-ups yet”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Annika Graham says the inclusion of models such as Ashley Graham (above) at this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show give her reason to feel “cautiously optimistic”. (Reuters)<\/p>\n
Annika says she’s “cautiously optimistic” about the more inclusive range of models featured, but didn’t notice much progress between the most recent show and last year’s.<\/p>\n
More broadly, she says it sometimes feels like things have swung back to something less inclusive.<\/p>\n
Our expertsGemma Sharp is a clinical psychologist and the founding director of the Consortium for Research in Eating DisordersJasmine Fardouly is a body image researcher and a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney\u00a0Fiona Newton is an Associate Professor of marketing at Monash University’A lone gesture’<\/p>\n
Gemma Sharp says we used to “celebrate this inclusivity” and “now we see it more as scepticism\u201d. (Supplied: Dr Gemma Sharp)<\/p>\n
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion show returned from a six-year break<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n Before the break, marketing director Ed Razek triggered a public relations crisis<\/a> when he said the brand would not include transgender or plus-size models in its fashion show.<\/p>\n Founding director of the Consortium for Research and Eating Disorders, Gemma Sharp, says about the recent show, “in the sort of broader landscape of body positivity I felt like this was a bit of a lone gesture”.<\/p>\n Professor Sharp says a patient recently wanted to discuss the show with her, and “the thrust of the conversation was quite positive”.<\/p>\n Jasmine Fardouly, a body image researcher and a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney says, “I was quite encouraged to see a more diverse range of bodies within the catwalk, because this is really what we need to be seeing more and more of everywhere.”<\/p>\n In October, Vogue Business analysed<\/a> every official runway featured on Vogue Runway from the New York, London, Paris and Milan Spring\/Summer shows.<\/p>\n When compared to its previous Spring\/Summer report, it found “this season’s plus-size representation is roughly the same, while mid-size representation has halved”.<\/p>\n