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- Robyn Lawley Will Headline Australian Fashion Week’s First Ever Curve Runway
Robyn Lawley Will Headline Australian Fashion Week’s First Ever Curve Runway
Instagram / @robynlawley
Hallelujah! The time has finally come for curve and plus-sized models to have a place walking in Australian Afterpay Fashion Week.
After criticism of the lack of body diversity at AAFW ’21, this year is set to be making changes, with the event holding its first-ever curve runway, headlined by international supermodel Robyn Lawley.
The Curve Edit, presented by modelling agency Bella Management, is so much more than a curve fashion show. It’s a celebration of beautiful bodies and a ‘thank you’ to Bella’s clients who have embraced extended size ranges for the past 20 years.
Bella Management was created in 2002, with the aim to redefine beauty and the boundaries placed on fashion models. Based in Melbourne, it continues to be the most established modelling agency for curve and plus-sized models.
“We want to ensure that models — whose sizing is reflective of over 80% of Australian women — have the opportunity to walk the runway. We want to show that women of every size deserve to be considered and embraced as a forceful and financial demographic in mainstream fashion,” says Bella Management founder Chelsea Bonner.
“Our hope is that by doing so it will encourage the future of extended sizing in fashion and celebrate the designers who have embraced our mission.”
In their AAFW 22 show, The Curve Edit, six designers who are passionate about elevating the future of curve fashion will showcase their
designs on Bella’s top curve models, including international curve supermodel Robyn Lawley.
“I am so proud and excited to be a part of Afterpay Australian Fashion Week’s first-ever exclusively curve runway. Showcasing fashion on a range of bodies is vital to body love and acceptance,” says Lawley.
Designers featured in The Curve Edit include 17 Sundays, Saint Somebody, Embody Women, Vagary the Label, Harlow and Zaliea. Each of these designers offer a size range from 12 – 26.
As for hair and makeup, the world’s first plastic-neutral make-up brand Inika Organic will provide the glow-ups while celebrity hairdresser Max Pinnell is in charge of hair.
This year, AAFW will also feature an Adaptive Clothing Collective, a runway show showcasing fashion for people with disabilities.
To me as a plus-sized model, it almost doesn’t feel real. Australian Fashion Week has always centred around traditional ideas of beauty. In the fashion world, “curve” or “plus-size” really means anyone over a size 10, which actually sits in the average size for women in Australia; being 14 – 16. This show will truly be a special moment in history for every woman, cementing that we’re moving towards a future of diversity and acceptance in fashion.
The Curve Edit, presented by Bella Management, will take place on Thursday 12th May at 2.30pm at Carriage Works Gallery 1. You can find the full AAFW 22 program here.