Fashion Brand Embraces 'Body-Positive' Mannequins

SPAO, a subsidiary brand of E-Land, is replacing unrealistically tall and slim mannequins with more realistically-sized ones.

The company said that it is the first Korean fashion brand to display mannequins that "do not distort" sizes in some of its stores.

These are 172.8 cm tall for men and 160.9 cm for women, which is the average size of Koreans between 25 and 34. Standard mannequins are often 190 cm tall for men and 184 cm for women. The waists of the new mannequins also reflect real sizes, or a good 2.3 inches bigger for men and 5.9 inches for women.

Other brands have switched to less size-shaming ideas. FnC Kolon launched a brand for men in average sizes in March this year, and released trousers in "realistic" lengths for the rather short legs of Korean men. They are about 10 cm shorter than the standard lengths in the industry, so there is no need to take them up.

Tops such as jackets that will be sold this fall and winter will also reflect this trend, with modified sizes for shoulder widths.

The "body positive" trend is changing the industry. Young people no longer want to emulate skinny fashion models, relentlessly trying to lose weight and wearing girdles, and have embraced comfortable and practical clothes.

Torrid, a fashion brand for plus-sized women, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in July after record sales of US$ 973.5 million last year.

Jaju, a lifestyle brand of Shinsegae International, now sells more boxer shorts for women than traditional panties.

Among adolescents in Europe and the U.S., there has even been a fad for burning skinny jeans. But business is flexible, and most high-street fashion brands are not ideologues. They merely adapt to what their customers want.