These Are the Designers Leading the Charge for Size Inclusivity in Luxury Fashion

With the world in constant, terrifying turmoil, the luxury market seriously struggling, men dominating top-tier industry jobs, and the inexorable rise of Ozempic meaning thin is once again "in", it's no surprise that size inclusivity seems to have fallen to the bottom of the fashion agenda.

It's a sad state of affairs—the once-promising movement at a seeming standstill as body diversity at recent Fashion Weeks saw a sharp downturn, and the high-end fashion houses offering extended sizing continue to be even fewer still.

But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon, and it's all thanks to four brands that are diligently continuing to do the work from the wings to offer cutting edge, cool, quality clothes for every body.

There's Ellie Misner, whose demi-couture corsetry doesn't just cater to curves, but is endlessly elevated by them. The design duo behind Ester Manas, who are proving that doing things differently—both with their sizing and business model—can actually be profitable. Brazilian-born Karoline Vitto, whose work celebrates the sensuality of the female form in all its guises. And, of course, Sinéad O'Dwyer, who is breaking down age-old toxic industry standards with her avant-garde designs.

We interviewed each of these designers to shine a light on the state of size inclusivity in the luxury fashion world today, and uncover all the trials, tribulations and triumphs they've experienced along the way.

Ellie Misner

East London-based designer Ellie Misner “didn’t set out to have a brand”, but when she began making corsets from her parents’ house after graduating into the COVID pandemic, her work took on a life of its own. “It all happened completely organically,” she says. “I was freelancing at the time, but I had a lot of corsets in my grad collection so I already knew how to make them. I tried to make them more wearable and less uncomfortable than the traditional ones, and they picked up a lot of traction because this was pre the big corset trend—they weren’t everywhere at that point. After two years, I realised I had to do it full time and stop working for other people. I made my first demi-couture collection in September 2022, and it all just took off from there.”

Specialising in demi-couture lends itself naturally to ensuring her designs are accessible to a range of body-types, as all pieces are made to order. “I don’t have factories, I don’t mass produce, everything is made in-house by me based on each person’s measurements,” says Misner, “So I can really do any size, and when it’s fully custom, I build a mannequin so it fits perfectly.”

And while this is an approach that’s undoubtedly time-consuming, expensive and at times tricky, Misner’s own experience made it a priority. “Designing for curves and plus-size is harder because you can’t just use the basic mannequin and measurements—it requires a lot more thought with each garment,” Misner explains. “But I didn’t grow up around straight-size women. I’m Jewish, everyone in my family is curvy. My best friend is also a curve model, so I figured that if I made things for her, then I could learn how to work with boobs and different measurements. We were really only taught sample size at Uni, but why would I make a brand that doesn’t reflect my experience, and clothes that no one I know can actually wear?”

Misner’s unique offering and meticulously crafted designs soon began gaining traction in the fashion industry, but it wasn’t until Katy Perry wore her red satin corset and matching low-slung, lace-up skirt—featuring an exposed black thong to boot—that the brand “really blew up”. Since then, Misner has dressed the likes of Ashley Graham, Halle Bailey, Jorja Smith, Dove Cameron, Lena Dunham, Raye and Tems for major red carpet moments, as well as a growing number of brides. “I got a request from a customer to make one of my ready-to-wear rosette corsets in white duchess silk for her wedding after-party look, and then her wedding was featured in Vogue, so it kind of snowballed,” explains Misner. “Then last year I made four full wedding dresses, and this year I’ve already had eight bridal orders.”

It speaks to Misner’s immense skill and distinctive, dramatic designs to be chosen for such important occasions—not to mention the “fabulous, confident, I-don’t-give-a-fuck energy” her brand both exudes and attracts. Clearly, she has cornered a gap in the market: “If you think about most brands that are catered to curve, especially on the high-street, they’re generally quite frumpy and mostly consist of jersey,” says Misner. “They’re aimed at a certain idea of middle-aged women—they’re not young, cool, or fun. I think a big part of it is that there aren’t enough women-owned brands. We need more girls doing it for the girls—we’re the ones that tend to push all sizes, because we know how shit it is otherwise.”

Shop Ellie MisnerEster Manas

For Ester Manas, the importance of size inclusivity is personal. As an EU size 44-46 (UK 16-18), the French designer never saw herself reflected in the world of luxury fashion—so when she came to set up her own brand, ensuring it catered to and celebrated women of all shapes and sizes “was always going to be important,” she tells Marie Claire UK. Her namesake brand was born in 2019, co-founded with then-partner, now-husband Balthazar Delepierre, when they were both fresh out of fashion school at La Cambre in Brussels—and their star has been on the rise ever since.

The industry was quick to pay attention: Ester Manas won the Galeries Lafayette Prize at the prestigious Hyères Festival, was finalised for the LVMH Prize and H&M Design Award, collaborated with Ganni, and secured a coveted spot on the Paris Fashion Week schedule—all within its first few years of existence. Because not only did the design duo display immense technical skill and creativity, but they used it to break the mould with their vision of “radical inclusivity”.

Their designs go up to an EU 52 (roughly UK 26), and feature bold colours, innovative silhouettes, sultry cut-outs, playful ruffles, transparent materials and experimental construction—all of which put the female form centre-stage. “In Ester Manas, you can’t be shy,” says the French designer. “Our customers are super bold, fierce women—they are proud of who they are, they feel sexy in their bodies, and they have fun with styling themselves. Our transparent pieces are always the ones that sell best!”

Despite the buzz that came with showing their collections at Paris Fashion Week—and featuring by far the most curve-heavy cast the city has ever seen at that—Manas and Delepierre recently decided to change tack. “We took a little pause in terms of visibility and shifted how we run our business,” says Delepierre. Last year, they came off the schedule, stopped working with factories, and instead brought “everything back home”, selling only via their website and making each piece by hand in a building in Brussels that acts as both home and atelier. They also introduced a new, more affordable line of ‘Easy Pieces’ in an effort to be more inclusive price-wise, too.

Our customers are super bold, fierce women—they are proud of who they are, they feel sexy in their bodies

“This change was necessary because we were about to have a baby, but we also want to show that we can choose what we want to be focused on while maintaining a nice, successful business,” explains Delepierre. And successful it certainly is: “The revenue is higher now than before, so we are proving that our business model can be commercially viable while also giving us freedom,” he says. “We are happy, we are able to do what we love, we don’t stress, we make all the sizes we want, we do our best to create the best product, and our customers are really supportive of this. We have great communication with them—we know their names, we know their bodies, and they’re happy with what we are doing. Last year we only had 3 returns!”

Because in the end, while Ester Manas has always been synonymous with size inclusivity, it’s not all the designers are about. “We don’t just want to be an issue brand,” says Delepierre. “We want to dress people, have fun and create something that’s cool and relevant. It’s weird that size is even an issue at all—it should just be something so normal that it’s not even talked about.”

Shop Ester ManasKaroline Vitto

For sensual clothes that highlight the body in all its beauty, look no further than Karoline Vitto. The Brazilian-born, London-based designer founded her eponymous brand in 2020—“a pandemic baby,” as she calls it—as a continuation of the work she had started during her MA at the Royal College of Art.

“I had been doing a lot of experimentation in terms of photographing my own body and working with my friends rather than professional models, so I had this really close relationship with working with bodies that were different than the standard runway size,” she explains. “The whole idea was built on looking at the body as a source of inspiration for design and working with what was already there.”

Her initial signature? Using black not as a way to hide, but to reveal. “Black was the main colour I worked with in the beginning—I saw it as more like a shape, because of its ability to cancel things out and highlight others,” says Vitto. “That’s the reason for all the cut-outs I had—it was very much a visual exploration of the body in that sense.”

And while her brand has evolved, her designs becoming bolder, more colourful, and more confident as time has gone on—see the bright reds, graphic prints, directional denim, and artful metal details of her last collection—Vitto’s raison d’etre has held true. “Size inclusivity was always part of my vision, in the very simple sense that as a fashion designer, you’re making clothes for people to wear, and people come in all shapes and sizes,” explains Vitto. “Even back during my BA, I was making clothes for myself, in my non-sample size, and trying them on, because as a designer it’s so important to know how something feels on the body, and that was just the easiest way to do it.”

Despite initial hesitation from the market—”I remember meeting with buyers right at the beginning who told me my concept wasn’t going to work, because I was highlighting what women want to hide rather than helping them hide it,” Vitto recalls—the brand was soon picked up by Fashion East, and its debut SS23 show made up of all-curve models was a seminal moment in the size inclusivity movement. “The response was really, really positive,” says Vitto. “It felt like an exciting moment in the industry, that might actually lead to some real change. People were ready to see something fresh and new.”

Buyers told me my concept wouldn't work, because I was highlighting what women want to hide instead of helping them hide it

Being selected for the “Supported By Dolce & Gabbana” slot during Milan Fashion Week SS24 then helped propel Karoline Vitto onto the global stage. “It was an amazing experience: D&G fully sponsored everything, providing fabrics, backstage, studio, casting and all-round support. Ashley Graham opened the show, which was a real pinch-me moment. She’s a real one; a beautiful person inside and out, who still wears our clothes and really supports the brand,” says Vitto.

The likes of Jorja Smith, Alva Claire, Tems and Shygirl are also a part of Karoline Vitto’s ever-growing fan club. “I feel like we’ve really created something special in terms of a community around the brand,” says the designer. “Our customers stand for the brand and they stand by the brand. We live in a world that profits from women hating themselves in order to sell product, so when you’re making clothes that make women feel amazing and confident, they’re even more supportive because they’re not used to brands that actually care.”

Shop Karoline VittoSinéad O'Dwyer

“The lack of inclusivity in luxury fashion is systemic,” posits Sinéad O’Dwyer, the LVMH Prize-nominated Irish fashion designer whose avant-garde creations and refreshingly diverse shows have been a highlight of the London Fashion Week calendar for some six seasons now. “The industry just isn’t set up for it.”

“There’s a very old school, male-focused vision of patterns for the female body, which don’t grade well, and so no patterns have really been made within luxury for a body beyond a size 8 or 10,” explains O’Dwyer.

“Then, there’s the issue of expense, not just in terms of garment development and multiple samples, but also investing in developing the plus-size customer through things like activations and marketing, which takes time. As a result, even the bigger luxury stores don’t tend to buy beyond a size 14—if that. The celebrity world is also a huge part of it: they are primarily all the same small size because that way they can borrow luxury samples and align themselves with those kinds of brands. For everyone else it creates a really toxic beauty standard, as well as a huge anxiety around looking different. Ultimately, it all goes back to misogyny; it’s a way of keeping women smaller.”

Most would see such seemingly endless challenges as simply insurmountable, but not O’Dwyer. “During my MA [at the RCA] I found myself thinking about how I wanted to contribute to the industry going forward in a meaningful way,” she says. “I love craft, I love working on a team, I love the creativity in the industry, but there was a lot I didn’t enjoy in what I was seeing, how I realised it was all set up, and the negative effects it has. I had an eating disorder myself for many, many years, so I know from first-hand experience how much it can actually destroy life. I’m really passionate about being part of changing that.”

She started with re-evaluating the traditional way of making patterns, using her own “primary research to make clothing that is more interesting for all different sorts of bodies”—and approaching challenges as “interesting investigation and problem solving to be done” as opposed to a hindrance. The resulting collections have been undoubtedly some of the most interesting, innovative, boundary-breaking and truly inclusive the industry has ever seen.

Ultimately, it all goes back to misogyny—toxic beauty standards are a way of keeping women smaller

Her designs were soon stocked by SSENSE, Browns and Dover Street Market—and now on major European e-tailer Zalando, too. “I’m really excited because it’s my largest range ever for a wholesaler, with sizes UK 6-24 available across nearly every style,” says O’Dwyer. “I think it’s probably my biggest achievement to date.”

Alongside this, O’Dwyer has also launched her own e-commerce site and recently held her first IRL London pop-up shop, in a bid to put more energy into more customer-facing opportunities. “Doing the pop-up really highlighted how important it is for me to meet my customers first-hand, and develop those one-on-one connections that create a real community,” she says. “We’re in very difficult times worldwide, there’s so much happening politically that’s really scary, so all I can really do is keep going in my own lane, be very persistent in making work that’s inclusive, and carry on step by step within that sphere for the people that love the work. Ultimately, lots of small actions are what will make a big difference over all, and that gives me hope at least.”

Shop Sinéad O'Dwyer