Beyond Measure:
Fashion and the Plus-Size* Woman

Beyond Measure: Fashion and the Plus-Size* Woman was curated
by graduate students in the Costume Studies Program at NYU's Steinhardt School. The exhibition explored the shifting discourse surrounding the plus-size woman with fashion and the body. It examined the "plus-size" woman's place within fashion from the perspectives of designers, manufacturers, the general public, and the individual women themselves.
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As a complicated cultural construct itself, the very term "plus-size" evokes a myriad of reactions and the fashion industry has played an undeniable role in enabling the stigmatization of women's bodies.
Despite consumer needs, plus-size fashion has traditionally been given little attention. Yet women have had to clothe themselves and thus have been marginalized by the fashion system. The plus-size woman's place within the history of the body and her space within the fashion industry was presented through a diverse set of objects emphasizing her relationship to gender and body politics as well as cultural attitudes toward beauty and health.

In the 90s, a change occurred. Alongside the "heroin chic" of prominent models like Kate Moss, the plus-size women also took their place, walking on runways and becoming muses for respected fashion designers. Stella Ellis led the haute couture world into new and daring territory alongside models of "regular" sizes. The exhibition addresses the plus-size woman's relationship with fashion in recent years. It included images of plus-sized models using padding during photo shoots, which has drawn comparisons to the use of Photoshop to create unattainable ideals of beauty.