Belle di Faccia, Elisa Manici, and Clothes Fitting Bodies
by Vivian Anderson
On March 9, the Dickinson Fashion Mosaic explored the fashion market’s hostile eye towards those of a larger size. For this we interviewed the two founders of the first fat activist group in Italy, Belle di Faccia, Chiara Meloni and Mara Mibelli, as well as another fat activist, Elisa Manici, the author of GRASS* (see picture below). The interview proved a welcome change with a refreshing, new perspective on body size. We gained valuable information from a consumer’s perspective rather than the designers.
These women grew up with the struggle of finding clothing that fit them properly. One option for larger sized people is to have custom made clothing; however, this costs a significant amount of money, limiting the amount of people that can afford this option. Especially since there is a struggle for plus sized people to find well-paying jobs, since they are discriminated against in the job market. When asked how the market has changed since their childhood, they said that now they have a slightly easier time when finding larger sizes. However the market is still a niche market and therefore the products cost a lot. Even if famous brands display larger sizes on the runway, they are not available in the physical stores. This forces people who require plus sized clothing out of public view and they cannot test clothing to see if it actually works on their bodies. By pushing larger people to stay away from stores in public it further reinforces the idea that fat people are unsightly. The restricted amount of plus sized clothing also limits their experience of fashion as self expression. They pointed out that even if designers and stores offer larger sizes, they tend to cost significantly more than those of the smaller sizes.
The future of fashion is unclear and the people that we interviewed had many ideas the future market. They wish that clothes would be created for plus sized people so that pieces sit properly on their body. It was also a wish that people educate themselves on the struggle of being limited in their clothing choices. When asked about their belief that fashion will become more accessible, we received several different answers. Mara is very pessimistic and doesn’t think that she will be alive when fat bodies are accepted into the standard. Most brands creating for larger bodies do it as a progressive move for clout not because they want to accept plus-sized people. Elisa was also in this boat; they don’t think that it will happen in their lifetime but they want to be able to dream about it. They all argued that this change will likely be started by independent brands, not high fashion ones.
The Mosaic group with Elisa Manici and Belle di Faccia (on screen)
-Vivian Anderson