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Ema Kojić

Is She A Fashion Icon? Or Is She Just Skinny...

It’s no secret the fashion industry has had an unfortunate obsession with skinny culture for decades, but you may not realize this has likely affected the way you see fashionable people too…


Let’s not forget Victoria’s Secret’s annual fashion show was canceled indefinitely due to its inability to become more inclusive. I mean, they referred to Barbara Palvin, a size 6 model, as their first plus size model.


This constant image of skinny being beautiful and the ideal way of looking has created generations of people who subconsciously see an outfit on a thin model and will think it’s fashion, while the same outfit on a woman of a curvier or larger frame would not be taken seriously.


In the fashion world now, supermodels and Instagram influencers are seemingly in charge of trends. The issue with the concepts of “fashion” on the Internet is the likelihood that these images we consume on the daily are almost always photoshopped and edited.


The obsession with thin women and everything they do is evident on almost any social media app. For instance, Pinterest.


Open Pinterest and search up any outfit, whether you’re searching for “black leather pants fit” or “leggings”, nearly every image that pops up is of a thin woman.


TikTokers have begun to examine and test this theory that anything thin women wear is immediately deemed “iconic”. TikTokers like @sanrizzle, @senorapattinson, and @trashcanbarbie, among others, have challenged and proven this concept of thin privilege when it comes to fashionable statuses.


TikToker @trashcanbarbie is a plus size fashionable influencer that put this theory to the test in a collab video with @sanrizzle.


Kendall Jenner is one of the best examples of this theory. Anything she wears, whether in an Instagram post or on the sidewalks of Los Angeles and New York City, Kendall’s outfits are almost always worshipped by the media.


PC: Pintererst

Kendall isn’t the only one who receives this type of attention for virtually any and every outfit she wears. Hailey Bieber, Lily Rose Depp, Kylie Jenner, Emma Chamberlain, among others, are all examples of influencers of very mediocre fashion sense who receive much more praise than they deserve.


Personally, a supermodel I would say has a better fashion-sense and overall is Bella Hadid. Many would argue she has the same “thin-privilege” as other influencers and celebrities of our time, which is of course true. She does have skinny privilege, as does every thin person that can wear tights and an oversized t-shirt and call it fashion.


PC: Pinterest

However, Bella Hadid has brought many fashion trends, such as tiny sunglasses, mom jeans, and the overall 90s supermodel fashion sense, to her major platform. Obviously inspired by others or trends from past decades, Bella somehow manages to keep her outfits spicy in their own way.


Emma Chamberlain will wear yoga pants and a sweatshirt, post on Instagram, and be praised as a minimalist fashion icon. If a bigger girl were wearing the same outfit, as proven by @sanrizzle in one of her TikToks, the outfit is not interesting or trendy.

PC: @sanrizzle, TikTok

On many occasions bigger and curvier women who wear tight clothing or a revealing top are deemed as “overly sexual,” while a thin woman wearing the same exact top will be praised for “owning” her shape.


This conversation has been seen on multiple social media platforms. On Twitter, many were judging a picture that went viral of two overweight women wearing jean shorts, white chunky sneakers, and oversized tees. This tweet received attention by another woman who proclaimed, “...if Bella Hadid wore this exact outfit it would be on a million “80s casual inspo” Pinterest boards bc, as always, fashion is judged exclusively by the bodies that wear it.”


For reference, here’s a photo of Gigi Hadid wearing the same outfit:

PC: Pinterest

The problem with the skinny privilege is that these influencers, as well as regular people, are able to label themselves as more fashionable and unique when wearing the most basic of outfits.


For instance, there are countless amounts of less famous influencers with regular and more common body types who work their hardest to prove their status as fashionable people.


Here are some fashionable queens that deserve more hype than they receive: @trashcanbarbie on TikTok, @wuzg00d on Instagram, @the.navarose on TikTok, and @richcaroline on TikTok.

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