Australian Designer Ditches Models for Athletes at Fashion Week
Athletes hit the runway at Australian Fashion Week. (Photo: Getty Images)
Tired of too-skinny models, one Australian designers are taking a stand and casting athletes instead. At this week’s Australian Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, We are Handsome opted to feature women that represent a healthier ideal. ‘We will not cast skinny models or skeletal frames, we look for real, active and healthy women,” We are Handsome designer Katinka Somers told Daily Mail Australia. “We’re also not shunning skinny women. There are lots of women out there that no matter what they eat, won’t be a robust shape. We’re just aiming for a different shape of women to other designers.”
Tuesday night’s We are Handsome show featured a tennis court as catwalk and stadium-style seats for its front row. In lieu of traditional models, well-known Australian athletes like pole-vaulter Amanda Bisk, ballerina Juliette Burnett, and yogi Sjana Earp opened the show. Rather than strike model poses, the women did yoga poses. The rest of the athletes and models played sports as they showcased the brand’s athletic wear, carrying tennis rackets and jump ropes.
At the We are Handsome fashion show in Australia, yoga poses replaced model poses. (Photo: Getty Images)
The brand’s designers, Jeremy and Katinka Somers, made a conscious decision to choose real women who lead healthy, active lives to be the face of their brand. “There’s a big thing about ‘who should be on the runway,’ so we know we’re breaking rules by having girls that have never been on a catwalk before (and who are nervous about it),” Somers told the Daily Mail. “But the rules are there to be broken, times have changed, and girls who are active are the new shape. Strong really is the new sexy.”
We are Handsome presented their collection on a tennis court instead of a runway at Australian Fashion Week. (Photo: Getty Images)
For brands that sell swimwear and activewear that highlight the body, it makes such a positive statement to feature fit, powerful women in their shows and campaigns. That said, while the athletes might have more muscle tone, it’s still a body ideal—none of the women looked like they were over a size 6. And this is not ready-to-wear fashion, whose runways have a very narrow ideal. While France has recently passed legislation banning ultra-thin models on their runways, the typical woman walking the catwalk is still quite thin. Will this be the beginning of a trend that spreads to high fashion too? It remains to be seen, but it is a positive step towards more diverse body types.
For the We are Handsome athletic wear fashion show, the designers chose athletes, instead of models, to showcase the brand. (Photo: We are Handsome)
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