Suiting and tailoring are of particular interest. “The only reason those silhouettes haven’t been rethought for a curvier body is because the focus has been on sample sizes, and the male gaze, and male designers have been at the forefront for so long. The work just hasn’t been done to make those patterns [that look good on straighter bodies] for a bigger range of bodies – so it is about unlearning how we look at, and perceive, different bodies in the luxury fashion sector.”
O’Dwyer is tackling this challenging task by using several different sample sizes to achieve a much broader range of sizes than is typical in luxury fashion, but also, crucially, to produce clothes that look good on larger bodies because they have been specifically designed for those bodies rather than made by grading up a pattern designed for a much smaller body.
Her shirts and jackets (often inspired by her sister – professional violinist Aoise O’Dwyer) feature cup details that celebrate the wearer’s form without having cleavage on show or without fitted shapes. Meanwhile, a twist on masculine tailoring sees a necktie detail split to form a criss-cross bodice that accentuates the bust. “A lot of the shirts I do were designed on a size 18, so they look good on a smaller size, but they look especially good on the sample size that I developed them on because that was the original design intention,” she says.
Being able to consider such things is, she says, an inspiring position to be in and one which might not be possible without the industry disruptors that came before her. “There are curve models who have been working for many years to try to have a voice in the modelling industry – people like Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham who have been creating that space. People respect them and they are deemed ‘worthy’ of luxury and it kind of trickles down and people’s ideas change.”
Look at O’Dwyer’s social media posts and it’s clear that even people who can’t afford her clothes are buoyed by her efforts to diversify fashion – whether that is through the diverse casting of models, often with casting director Emma Matell, or by working with charities such as Anna Cofone’s Hair & Care to invite blind and low vision women to experience her show through touch and audio description.
It is refreshing too, to see such sexy clothing on bodies that are not normally portrayed as sexy in mainstream media. “My size range for the runway is 6 to 30 which means we can cast a wide range of people – although sometimes there are accessibility considerations depending on the space. It is really amazing that we have the opportunity to show such a diversity of people in that world, and yes, my clothing is very sexy.
“It changes how you see yourself if you see a broader range of body shapes wearing luxury. Everyone wants to feel represented – you can feel more accepting towards different types of people and differences in yourself whereas generally, the luxury industry is not that… it is the converse – you are surrounded by one type of person, and you feel uncomfortable.”
It’s an expensive business too, as an independent label manufacturing in the UK, to try to make such a broad range of sizes – wholesale margins are tight, factory minimums can be prohibitive, stores are closing down, and many retailers don’t want to stock larger sizes.
O’Dwyer says that more brands and retailers could be more size-inclusive but they don’t care, or it’s too expensive to do so. “It’s not just about the development of the garments, it’s about the development of the customer. They can’t just all of a sudden start doing lots of other sizes because they need them to sell, so they also need to do the marketing, reach that customer and let them know that they can buy something from them. I think that is a huge piece of investment. If you’ve never been able to buy something in [a luxury store] you’re not all of a sudden going to go in there just to have a look – you need to be told.”
“Even at that, people aren’t necessarily going to see something in a size 24 in a campaign and think ‘I’ll just pop over and buy myself something’ – they are used to that being just for campaign and runway – it’ll be about representation and then there will be no product.”
While her range is generally stocked from size 6 to 20, O’Dwyer says that it is still important to her to develop patterns and show up to a size 30. “It matters to me, and I am doing the development and will hopefully have a direct-to-consumer soon which will be my opportunity to offer my full-size range,” she says. “I am doing my best. I am not doing everything right and am definitely making mistakes but the intention is there. All the patterns and all that research are an important part of the future of the brand.” sineadodwyer.com
