More than six million British women are now size 18 or larger according to researchers Mintel.
Providing clothing for the larger sizes is the fastest growing market for the fashion chains, worth £3.8billion a year.
The most popular women’s size in the UK is a size 12, with 31 per cent buying this, followed by size 14. However, with nearly 40 per cent of the adult female population, thats 10.1million women in the UK, wearing size 16 and over, there is a growing demand for clothing that is more widely representative.
Some chains have introduced size ranges of 20 plus, while one, Debenhams, has been trying out bigger mannequins. M&S has moved away from having a separate plus size range to offering larger sizes in the fashions available to other shoppers.
Reflecting this trend, top designers are producing collections for bigger women. The Marc Jacobs fashion house is considering producing a range in size 14 and up. Designer Mark Fast caused a stir when he sent size 12 and 14 models down his catwalk during London Fashion Week and size 16 model Crystal Renn has had a huge impact on the industry.
Tamara Sender, a Mintel fashion analyst has said: ‘Rising levels of obesity mean that plus-size consumers are increasing and these shoppers are looking for improved choice.’
Some stores have redrawn their clothing templates to allow bigger women to buy items that carry a small size label, so called vanity sizing, which means today’s size 14 is much bigger than ten years ago. The ploy is meant to make women feel good about themselves so they keep coming back.
