Vogue Business Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Size Inclusivity Report

There was no plus-size representation in Milan for SS25 menswear, for the second season in a row. Mid-size representation did bubble up this season, reaching 1.1 percent (up from 0 percent last season). This was partly thanks to the return of designer Magliano, one of Milan’s few plus-size designers, who showed at Pitti Uomo last season. He showed five mid-size looks, representing 12.2 percent of his collection. London designer Martine Rose showed two mid-size models (5.9 percent) and Zegnas Mads Mikkelsen’s cameo meant the brand had a mid-size look (2 percent). There were also a few mid-size looks in the presentations, at A-Cold-Wall (which came in second in Milan with 12 percent) and Our Legacy (with 1.9 percent).

In Paris, plus-size representation increased slightly, accounting for 0.4 percent of looks in the French capital (up from 0.2 percent last season). Mid-sized business representation was 1.4 percent this season, compared to 10.6 percent last season. Bluemarble, 032c, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, Y-3 and White Mountaineering each presented a mid-size look in their shows. Parisian brand LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi leads in overall diversity this season, with 26 percent non-straight sized looks (22 percent medium and 4 percent plus size), followed by Doublet with 13.2 percent (5.3 percent). looks average size and 7.9 percent plus size).

I am really proud of my casting director Alexandre Junior Cyprien, for presenting the type of casting we do every season, says Nouchi. It is really off the beaten track and the classic norms, but that is exactly what LGN is. We are very aware of the importance and the need for the diversity of bodies that must be presented on the podium.

We always make sure to have [size diversity] I would love to have more, honestly, but it's hard, adds Molly Ledoux, who has been casting Doublets since 2020.

Rick Owens placed fifth this season, following his blockbuster show of 192 looks, which featured three plus-size looks (1.6 percent) and 10 medium-size looks (5.2 percent).

Typically, size representation among the biggest players is limited each season. In previous seasons, major brands like Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen entered the rankings for the first time with plus- and mid-size representation, only to return to majority or 100% straight-size in subsequent seasons.

Street Casting: The Ups and Downs

Street casting is a way to attract potential models with diverse body shapes and backgrounds. However, models say some brands that employ plus-size street models pay as little as $50 to walk in a show. That creates obstacles for models signed by agencies, whose agents often won't let them walk for less than $50, models say (the agency usually takes 20 percent). In this sense, inclusiveness should go hand in hand with fairness, especially when brands profit from the perception that they are inclusive. Brands know that people picked off the street are so excited to be in a show that they'll agree to anything, says plus-size model Silvano Frere, who walked for Doublet this season. Street casting is interesting but should be regulated in the same way as traditional casting.

Martine Rose always uses street casting for at least part of every show. For Roses’ Milan presentation, casting director Isabel Bush cast street models in London, but she scouted other models outside Milan train stations during prep. The two average-sized models in the show were women cast on the street. “I think it’s really about the character. We try to keep it open from there,” Bush says. “Anybody who is very confident in their body is always interesting to us. Samples are a big factor, so it depends on what’s available. But Martine Rose has a studio team who can sometimes just do something specifically for a plus-size person if we still have someone in mind who we think will be more curvy.”