We’ve enjoyed the previews from V’s first-ever forthcoming “Size Issue” that have leaked over the past few weeks. V has always been one of our favorite fashion magazines, and though the new editorials have been fun to look at, as always, it’s hard not to view the issue as a publicity stunt. So far the spreads unveiled have only featured either very thin or very large girls. Publicity ploy or not, the issue has put the topic of model size back into debate. An agent in Ford’s plus-size division, naturally, is just jazzed about the issue.



“I am thrilled when I see these pictures,” says Dakin. “Firstly, it shows that these girls can work with great photographers and amazing magazines like V and be taken more seriously for the work they do. For my girls, it means that the word ‘plus’ can — hopefully — go away soon since they are now working in every major magazine in the world.”



And for him, it means his girls are getting more work. A London stylist who did not want to be named shared her thoughts on the issue with the Telegraph.

“It’s such an extreme response to the size-zero hoopla.

“I think all women want to see images of healthy girls, not women who are emaciated. But, realistically I don’t think many women aspire to be a size 18, either. I don’t think using outsize models is really the way to change perceptions — it’s just an extreme volt-face.

“I am sure [British knitwear designer] Mark Fast only had good intentions when he put larger girls in his skimpy, spidery knits [last year]. But, really, all I thought when I saw the girls in the clothes is that it looked ridiculous.”

Fast’s show wouldn’t have gotten the same publicity without those girls. And of course big can be beautiful — the industry has shown us that in many ways for years. But can average girls be beautiful, too? If designers used normal-size 6 or 8 girls in shows and magazines shot them for editorials, would it receive the same publicity? Or perhaps not, because the difference wouldn’t be striking enough to warrant it?

Curvy models: is this the shape of things to come? [Telegraph UK]

Related: Karl Lagerfeld Shot a Big Girl for V’s Size Issue

Gabourey Sidibe and Dakota Fanning Cover V’s Size Issue

It Wouldn’t Be a ‘Size’ Issue If the Plus-Size Models Weren’t Naked

V Magazine Pits a Plus-Size Model Against a Skinny One