The Era of Non-Standard Models

Fashion industry standards have always dictated their strict beauty rules – tall, thin, long hair, perfect facial features, and young age. The laws of beauty have been formed for more than a dozen years. But with overcoming the turn of the 2000s, everything changed.  A cult of uniqueness and dissimilarity is emerging in society. Now every girl got a chance to be called beautiful with her own unique zest. And the more distinctive her appearance is, the more famous she will become. Non-standard models conquer the world of high fashion in the 21st century. Legendary designers and global brands are willing to cooperate with unusual girls far from the usual standards of attractiveness.

Modern Fashion Against Beauty Standards  

Tall and slender girls are instantly prophesied a model future. We all remember catwalk models that are more like “emotionless sticks” than the beautiful half of humanity. But, with the advent of a new era, modern fashion is expanding its boundaries.
Body positivity is a movement that teaches us to accept people for who they are. It teaches respect for people of any weight, skin color, any appearance. The current arose in 1996 but became especially widespread after the 2000s. According to the activists of this movement, all bodies are beautiful and modern society should fight against the imposed standards of attractiveness.
All people are equal, and no one should be discriminated against because of their appearance.
And now we see that curvy girls and thin models are increasingly appearing on the covers of glossy magazines and fashion shows. Ashley Graham, Tara Lynn, Robyn Lawley, Whitney Thompson – this is just a small list of plus-size models with thousands of contracts with the world’s best brands. In addition, photos of models with non-standard figures adorn the covers of such glossy magazines as Elle, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, etc.

How The Parameters Changed 

Most modeling agencies, as the primary criterion for selection, indicated height from 175. But the standards of model beauty have been changed here too. Perhaps the most famous short model (only 170) who conquered the catwalks of the 90s is Kate Moss.
Her dizzying success was repeated by top model Cara Delevingne with a height of 173. She did not aspire to the modeling business, but her bright appearance and acting talents did not leave the girl unnoticed. The model was the muse of Karl Lagerfeld himself and conquered the fashion catwalks of all the leading fashion houses.
Another model, Laetitia Casta, with a height of 169, conquered not only the podiums of fashion houses Louis Vuitton and Roberto Cavalli but also the world of cinema. By the way, she was the face of the beauty brand L’Oreal Paris.
Shantel Brown-Young, a girl with vitiligo, definitely knows what it means to be different from the rest. Under the pseudonym Winnie Harlow, this successful model, catwalk star, and bright personality in the fashion world experienced a difficult childhood. However, the rare skin pigmentation disease makes her unique among her peers.
In 2017, Adwoa Aboah, an unusual girl with a short haircut, became the model of the year according to The Fashion Awards. The British model with a non-standard appearance is a frequent guest of fashion shows for Dior, Fendi, and others.
Masha Tyelna, a model of Ukrainian origin, is actively making her way into high fashion. First, a girl with huge eyes conquered Paris. From the very start of her career, she began receiving offers from the leading houses of France, and after three months, she demonstrated the collections of Givenchy, YSL, Nina Ricci, and other brands.
A model with Latvian roots, Viktoria Modesta, was able to build a successful modeling career. The girl had her leg amputated at 19 due to a congenital injury, but her career did not end there, it only began to grow. The highlight of Viktoria was stylish prostheses. The most popular is made in the form of a black spike.
Age is also not an obstacle to a successful modeling career. Along with the movement of body positivity, a new trend in the beauty called aging is gaining momentum. If the career is already over for many models at 30, then Daphne Selfe proved the opposite. Photo shoots of an elderly model over 80 for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vanity Fair show that aging can be beautiful.
In 2015, fashion designer Carrie Hammer’s New York Fashion Week show featured the first model with Down syndrome, Madeleine Stewart. The courageous act of a young girl received millions of reviews and caused an unprecedented interest in people with disabilities.
The world of fashion is, first of all, about beauty. But each of us is beautiful in our own way. Models with non-standard appearances inspire millions of ordinary women around the world. They teach you to accept your body, appearance, and personality as something unique and beautiful.