In hyping his new judgeship on Britain’s Next Top Model, designer Julien MacDonald scoffed at the notion of a plus-size model competing on the show. “This is a serious show,” he said, before going on to say plus-size girls are “looked down on” and “frowned upon,” and other things he was bound to get in trouble for. Grazia asked him what was up with all that:
“I was misquoted!” he shrieks, indignantly. So what DID you mean to say? “…that I think there is room for everyone in fashion, but if you’re a plus sized model the opportunities are less - there’s just less work for plus sized models.”
And, the designer says, proudly “my mother is a size 20, my sister is a size 18, the bestselling size in my Debenhams range is size 16. And you can see in my designs - I don’t try to cover up plus size women, I want them to accentuate their bodies.”
Claiming a misquote is a convenient way to try to get out of putting one’s foot in one’s mouth. It’s unclear what exactly MacDonald means by not trying to “cover up plus-size women,” since while the models in his fall 2010 show weren’t entirely covered, none of them are anywhere close to plus-size.
EEP! We talk Elle Macpherson, Plus Size Models and the BNTM final with Julien Macdonald! [Grazia UK]
Related: Britain’s Next Top Model Judge Julien MacDonald: ‘If You’re a Size 14 in a Room Full of Size Eights — You’re in the Wrong Room’
