MelanieW

Not a professional picture, but here is an early shot from the Mark Fast show that took place earlier today, which included a few plus-size models. This is Crystal Renn, of course. Kudos for the fitted knit. She looks fairly curvy here, at least around the middle, which is good to see. Much nicer outfit than the one from the Berlin show that she walked in a few weeks ago.



Nice styling, with the black tights and red shoes. The setting for the show looks unpleasantly industrial, but at least this is a designer who is using models who wear double-digit dress sizes, and that deserves praise.

Kaitlynn

Unfortunately, Crystal isn't as curvy as the picture suggests. Here's a video of the show. She has a better figure than a waif, but she's very thin now. It's a far cry from her gorgeous appearance in the Gaultier show a few years ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegrap...collection.html

The other plus-size model has a bit of a stumble on the catwalk.

MelanieW

There will no doubt be countless stories about the show. Here is an early one.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment...tory?id=9897171

Notable for this one line:


This indicates two things:

1. In the endless "blame game" that the fashion industry plays, with one part forever trying to assign blame on another part for the emaciated standard, this seems to indicate that the buck stops with the designers. They are the real culprits, at least when it comes to runways. Makes sense - the clothes come from them, and it all begins with the clothes.

2. Kudos to Mark Fast, but it is still disappointing that the models are only U.S. size 12s (at best), and that he is the only one using them. It is way too early to talk of any "change" taking place.

Give me FFFWeek, with true plus-size models and a waif-free environment, any day!

MelanieW

Here is a short video of the conclusion of the Fast show. It presents Crystal in a different knit.



Crystal walks a tad better than Hayley, the other plus-size model, who swings her arms a bit too much. I did like Hayleys outfit though, especially the beautiful neckline.

I like the hair and makeup much more than what was in the last Mark Fast show. This time, the hairstyles look attractive, and the makeup is more natural.

Chad

Here's a complete video of the show:



Crystal waks at 1:02 and 5:33, while Hayley walks at 2:45.

Photos of Crystal from style.com:



She's skinny, but I'm glad that the dresses define a bit of curve around her middle. I like the colour of the red outfit, and the design of the tan dress.

Fuller-figured models would definitely have been nice, but Fast deserves credit for doing what no other "mainstream" designer is doing right now.

Emily

I think it really depends on the angle of the photograph how shapely Crystal appears. In this picture, her physique is attractively curvier.



It's true that she had a richer, better figure in the Gaultier show, but at least she is fuller than the waifs. The knit designs look far more appealing on her build than they do on the underweight models. If there are any styles that absolutely beg to be displayed on full-figured girls, it's form-embracing knits like these. And I prefer these pieces to the ones in the previous Fast show.

One otherwise unimportant article about the show begins with this interesting lead-in:


That's an idea that has often been mentioned on this forum -- the notion of the "alternative universe," the better world in which plus-size beauty is preferred. I would have loved to have seen a whole show of body-conscious knitwear on models Crystal's size and larger. What a gorgeous presentation that would have been.