The second layout from the V Size Issue this essay will discuss is an eight page photo feature
that pitched plus-size model Crystal Renn against straight-size model Jacquelyn
Jablonski in a side-by-side comparison of the models wearing the same outfit.
The piece is titled, “One Size Fits All,” and plays on the idea that bright,
fun, spring trends look great on just about any figure (V, 98). In each of the
four shots both models are wearing the exact same outfit, styled identically
with the same hair and makeup. They both pose similarly with the same basic
stance and then each model varies it slightly. For example, in the first set of
photos each model stands with her hands on her hips facing the camera straight
on with knees bent and legs bowed outwards and leans forward on the tip toes of
her platform Versace heels.
The interest in the spread comes from the difference in the
way the models are photographed and therefore perceived by the reader and the
public. Jablonski pulls her stomach in and hunches her shoulders. She strikes a
very angular pose with her arms creating perfect ninety-degree angles where her
elbow meets. This creates an emphasis on the thinness of her arms, in that they
are long lean lines and the geometric shape enhances that aesthetic. Renn on
the other hand brings her right arm against her body pushing the flesh from her
arm next to the flesh of her upper chest. She pops her buttocks outward and
bends her legs much wider and dips lower as if she is dancing and dropping her
buttocks to the ground. The effect of her legs being both lower and spread more
widely is not only incredibly sexualized which gives credence to the topic
discussed earlier, but it also enhances the shapeliness of the thigh.
Another interesting aspect is that Jablonski is featured
first in all the photos, her picture always appears on the left hand side and
Renn’s photo follows Jablonski’s and appears on the right. In this way Renn is
being compared to Jablonski and therefore critiqued in comparison to the first
photo that has subconsciously set a certain skinny standard. Which could be
considered a negative, but in the case of this particular layout, it is not.
Because Jablonski is so thin the allure of Renn’s curves only make her figure
more appealing to look at. She makes the clothes come alive with facial
expressions and body language that Jablonski lacks. This is not to say that
Jablonski is not a good model, she is. She shows the clothes very well on her
body, but what Renn does is take the clothes a step further, she isn’t just
selling the clothes, she’s selling the lifestyle,
the fun you’ll have if you wear the
clothes.
As a final closing point on plus-size versus straight-size
models, I would like to address the difference in facial appearance between the
two. Straight sized models have a reputation for not being conventionally
beautiful. Currently the look high fashion designers are going for is very
unapproachable eastern European looking models. It’s not necessarily about
being beautiful, but more about looking interesting and edgy. This however is
not the case with plus-size models. Conventionally plus-size models have
embodied a girl next-door appearance. The goal is for them to be wholesome and
all-American; to look relatable.
Renn highlights this in her book saying that when she made the decision
to cross over from a straight-size to plus-size model she thought back on the
women she had so wanted to be like, the models she had emulated. “None of them
were pretty-pretty. The ones I thought were the most beautiful were the ones
who were a little strange-looking, a little gawky, a little too strong
featured…models who were otherworldly, like stick insects and bug-eyed space
aliens,” (Renn, 137).
Plus-size models on the other hand almost always have
striking faces and luscious features. Their features embody the same fullness
of their figures, they are the femme fatales of the modeling industry.
Everything about them is to appear womanly.
This is a graduation certainly from having to appear incredibly wholesome as
was the practice when Renn crossed over, but it is still a facet of being
pigeonholed.
All citations in this section hail from the V Size Issue and Renn's self-penned book hungry, image courtesy of the V Size Issue.
