It goes without saying that being fat has its downsides. Whilst it can be a stigmatised experience for both men and women, for younger luscious ladies who like stylish clothing, being bigger can be particularly difficult. Put bluntly, the plus-size fashion category is overwhelmingly crap: comprised of "flowy" dresses designed to hide a woman's lady-lumps rather than embrace them.
There are, luckily, a few designers doing some very exciting things in the sector recently. One of these is Gisela Ramirez, a Sydney designer who asks women of all sizes – big, small, oblong – to celebrate what they've got rather than feel like they have to hide it away. Central to this ethos is a statement emblazoned on Gisela's latest release tee-shirts (which were worn by none other than Ms. Beth Ditto on her last Australian tour):
fuck flattering.
"Fuck flattering literally means 'I wear what I want'" says Gisela. "I think that kind of empowerment speaks to fat women." This means there's strictly no mumus, skimming fabrics, or scary suckage undergarments involved in her designs. Rather, she embraces tailored pieces made from fabrics that have some stretch, like Ponti, to result in great amazing statement pieces: leotards, crop tops, sheer dresses, and borderline erotic bondage accessories that girls of all sizes would froth over.
"Being a great designer means designing for great style, and not using a plus-size body as an excuse to be boring," she says. This means clothing that's not just original for plus size – which usually just ends up with crappy adaptions of mainstream designs – but for fashion as a whole. "There needs to be more original options," says Gisela. "After all, the best feeling I get is when I walk down the street in my bangin' size 20 body, and people of all shapes and sizes are asking me where I bought my clothing."
Fuck flattering at
giselaramirez.com.au.