So, okay, I admit it. I was watching tv. Not only was I watching tv, I was watching reality tv. I was watching The Fashion Show on Bravo.
It was a rerun and I don’t know if it’s current – they just designed clothes based on freaking fabulous shoes.
So, the preview for the next episode comes on. And Isaac Mizrahi is talking about how you don’t design for models, you design for real people so these are the real people for whom the designers must design. There’s a montage – none of these people are very fat but they look like they have very regular bodies.
And then it all goes sideways. One of the designers goes off on the 43 inch hips of her person and another person is all, omg, my person has 45 inch hips like it’s the end of the world. And that’s when it happens.
Isaac Mizrahi – designer for Target-That-Broke-My-Heart – busts out with “Frankly, I think you’re being very sizist.”
Like, he used the word SIZIST. I am all a-flutter! Dude! I know it’s just a preview, but it seemed like it was a part of a larger chewing out. Dare I hope that this was an actual factual fat positive (or at least general body positive) moment on television?
Has anyone seen this? Does anyone know what I’m talking about?
I mean, maybe it’s ridiculous to be excited that an amateur designer gets metaphorically smacked for being sizist and nasty about someone’s body on a Tim Gunn sort of rip off show. But this may be the most fat positive thing I’ve seen all day and it was ONE SENTENCE.
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I don’t know if it was the episode (or, frankly, even the show) you saw, but I do know there was a season of one of those designer reality shows that featured an episode where they had to design for “normal” people – I think family members were called on to be the models. I thought it was freaking awesome.
Also, I heart Isaac Mizrahi. He’s seemed really down to earth and genuine in every blurb I’ve seen in mags and advertisements for his stuff.
I so saw this preview last night! I am very excited for the show- I agree, it seemed like a snipet of a longer yelling at the designers for being so rude to their clients.
The shoe episode is the most recent, so the ‘normal bodies’ one will run next Wednesday night…and into infinity because it’s Bravo and they recycle more than a member of the Green Party (thank you, folks! I’ll be here through Friday! Try the parmagiana!)
I’ve been watching The Fashion Show while waiting for the return of Project Runway (Yes, I know, it’s moved, but I’m in withdrawl waiting for Tim Gunn to be on my television again so I’ll take what I can get…even a show with a sad lack of Tim Gunn), and seeing the designers get so het up over disgustinly humongous measurements like (gasp!) ZOMG43 inches!!!!! had me wanting to throw my entire shoe collection through the screen.
We’ll see how Isaac’s speech turns out in the full episode, but I did have a hopeful moment hearing him say someone was being sizeist.
Kirsten, the show you’re probably remembering is an episode of Project Runway where the designers had to make outfits for relatives of the other designers. Jeffrey made Angela’s mother cry, he was such a jerk to her. On the other hand, watching several of the bigger women strut their stuff in lovingly designed clothes was awesome. You could tell that most of those women were having the time of their lives.
wow. I never really cared about watching this show until now. Thanks for the heads-up; I’m setting the DVR.
Kirsten,
Not sure if it’s what you’re talking about but I definitely saw that on at least one Project Runway. But what annoyed me is that all the designers they singled out as the best on that one had designed for thin family members and the ones they singled out as worst were designing for fat family members. I was annoyed at the time because I thought there might be some bias on the judge’s part aesthetically, just automatically thinking whatever thin people wear would look more attractive. But now that I’m reflecting on it I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that designers don’t typically know how to design for fat people… and if that’s the case, the judges (or SOMEONE) should have pointed that out on the show!
Katie, that’s a really good point. I think I too remember that episode or at least previews for it and I remember thinking “of course they chose thinner people. Everybody thinks everthing looks better on a skinny body” and being quite bitter about it but I really think you might’ve picked up on something. Aside from the fact that a lot of designers ARE sizest (I remember hearing one saying something to the effect that it was unfair to thin women to design nice things for fat women) I wonder if you’re right. It seems like so much of the fashion industry is so focused on thin bodies that nobody knows how to make clothing for anyone else. And, you know, heaven forbid anybody branch away from that *sigh*
Still, that’s super awesome. I might have to watch this show now. Also, I tend to heart Isaac Mizrahi’s Target stuff. It’s pricy for me when it’s full price but I found two really great dresses and a shirt of his last year on the clearance rack and they’re some of my favorite things to wear.
I’m not watching this show – and generally shy away from “real person” challenges – after seeing every single time that the designer with the skinniest “model” always wins, the designer with the fattest “model” always loses. And I will never watch that Project Runway season again because Jeffery was so horrific and fat-shaming to the woman for whom he was designing. He made her basically a giant satin sack then whined about it. And he didn’t get thrown off. In fact, he eventually won. I would be happy to watch an episode (like on PR Canada) that has plus size professional models, but throwing all that fat-shaming and body disgust at volunteers is just revolting.
Though I respect that Mizrahi does in fact design for some larger bodies, so does Michael Kors on Project Runway, and he’s as fat-shaming as anyone.
I love that someone used the word “sizist” on TV, no matter what else is going on.
OMG! I totally freaked out (with excitement) when I heard this!! I’ve been waiting for someone with a FA blog to write about it–thank you! I couldn’t believe he said it. I can’t wait for the show next week!
43 inch hips! Oh noes! I have 53 inch hips at the widest point.
I think fashion designers rarely design with people in mind first. They make a sketch, and then try to make a finished item that adheres to the sketch. Many of them just aren’t familiar enough with human anatomy to make truly realistic designs, with leads them to seek out the least fleshy people possible so they don’t have to think too hard. Designers may be good draftsmen, but that does not make them good at making real clothing.
And that, in a nutshell, is why I stopped watching Project Runway. That and watching the designers bring back the 80’s without any sense of irony.
LOL. 45 inches is my waist.
Though I will say that in last season’s PR drag queen challenge, Korto’s design for plus-sized Sweetie was one of the favorites.
Oh dreamy, Korto did such a fabulous job on Sweetie! You could tell how much she was loving wearing that fantastic outfit and showing off her great gams, too.
Bonus points to that batch of designers, too, for the fact that not one of them made a single sizeist comment (at least that made it to the final product) during that challenge…though I did long to slap Joe for taking liberties with Varla Jean’s bra when she left it with him for reference purposes.
Yeah, I saw that ep of Project Runway where they had to design for “real” people…family members…they also did an ep about designing outfits for women who had recently lost hundreds of lbs. Both of those ep’s fell short in my eyes of creating clothes that were flattering, stylish and fashionable. I’m hopeful that they had an ep dedicated to designing an outfit for a big beautiful woman. I won’t hold my breath though…
It’s still a fun show to watch. I am not a reverse-sizist.
45 inch hips? I haven’t had those in years. lol
Mizrahi makes some cute clothes. I just wish they came in my size! I mean, that’s the corner of the clothing section I covet at Target.
lilacsigil, Jeffrey wasn’t fat shaming. He was simply not letting her get away with trying to control every aspect of his design. Admittedly, it was not his best work, but just because she was fat doesn’t mean his disagreement was fat shaming. She was a ranging jackass and he was repsonding to that. He was douche-shaming if anything.
Anyoo, Isaac Mizrahi gets elevated in my mind.
I’ll be looking for this to pop up on the internets, since I don’t have Bravo and they don’t partner with Hulu. Sizist!
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