DEAR INDUSTRY: ARE WE PART OF THE PROBLEM?

I've been thinking a lot lately about where this industry is going. And if you've been around for a while, I don't think you can deny that things feel different. We're seeing fewer opportunities, fewer events, businesses struggling, brands pulling back from plus-size offerings, and a lot less excitement around an industry that at one point felt like it was finally getting the attention it deserved. We can point to society. We can point to the economy. We can point to social media. We can definitely point to the big corporations that were screaming inclusion a few years ago and have suddenly gotten very quiet. And we wouldn't necessarily be wrong about any of it.

But I have a question that I think we need to be brave enough to ask ourselves.

What role are WE playing in the decline of our own industry?

Because at some point, we have to stop looking outside of the house long enough to take a good look at what's happening inside of it. We can't keep demanding that mainstream fashion take us seriously while accepting things within our own industry that we know aren't up to par. And before anybody gets offended, I'm not saying this from the outside looking in. I'm part of this industry too. If I'm asking everybody else to look in the mirror, then I have to be willing to stand in front of that same mirror.

Let's start with the shows.

We say we want major brands to pay attention to our designers and models, but some of the shows we're producing simply don't look professional. Shows starting extremely late. Poor lighting. Bad sound. No organization. Wrinkled clothes coming down the runway. Models who clearly don't know where they're supposed to go. People running around backstage trying to figure things out while the audience is sitting there waiting.

And then the pictures and videos hit social media. That's the part I think we forget. Our work doesn't stay in the room anymore. The entire world can see it.

So if a major brand, sponsor, retailer, or someone from mainstream media comes across that footage, what exactly are we expecting them to see?

And models, we need to talk.

Everybody who wants to model needs to understand that modeling is a craft. Having a beautiful face, a nice body, and a social media following does not automatically make you a model. You have to train. You have to practice. You need to understand your body, your angles, your walk, and how to take direction. You need to know how to sell the garment you're wearing instead of just walking down the runway trying to look sexy.

And yes, sometimes it shows when you haven't trained.

I've watched models who have so much potential refuse to take classes or get coaching because they believe they already know what they're doing. Then they get on the runway, and everything they're lacking becomes very obvious. And instead of accepting the critique and getting better, sometimes the response is defensiveness.

But how do you grow if nobody can tell you anything?

Everybody wants the bigger opportunities. Everybody wants New York Fashion Week. Everybody wants the campaign. Everybody wants the cover. Everybody wants the brand deal. But are you ready for it?

Designers and boutiques, you're in this conversation too.

We keep telling people to support small businesses, and I absolutely believe we should. But "support small business" cannot become an excuse for small businesses not to have standards. If you're asking someone to spend their money with you, presentation matters. Your website matters. Your customer service matters. Your marketing matters. Your packaging matters. The way you present your clothing matters.

You can't throw a garment on somebody, take a bad picture with a cell phone in poor lighting, and then wonder why people aren't buying it. People need to be able to SEE what you're selling.

And photographers...come on.

Buying an expensive camera doesn't make you a photographer any more than buying a sewing machine makes me a designer. Learn your craft.

Learn lighting. Learn composition. Learn how to shoot different skin tones. Learn how to direct the person in front of your camera. Learn how to edit without editing somebody into a completely different person. And if you're shooting fashion, please understand that you're not just taking pictures of the model. You're supposed to be shooting the CLOTHES.

I've seen some beautiful pictures where the model looked amazing, but I couldn't tell you anything about the outfit. If the assignment was fashion, we missed the assignment.

And producers, we don't get to sit this conversation out either.

If we're asking people to buy tickets to our shows, asking designers to trust us with their collections, asking models to give us their time, asking media to cover us and asking sponsors to attach their names and money to what we're doing, then we have a responsibility to produce something that looks like we knew what the hell we were doing.

Now, everybody isn't working with a huge budget. I understand that better than most. Money absolutely affects what you're able to do. But everything isn't a money issue.

Organization is free. Communication is free. Rehearsing is free. Having a schedule is free. Respecting people's time is free.

Sometimes what we're calling a budget problem is really a preparation problem.

And while we're at it, publications, bloggers, influencers, and media platforms need to take a look in the mirror too.

If we're going to call ourselves media, then we have to actually cover the industry. That means getting outside. Going to the events. Interviewing people. Asking questions. Doing research. Finding the stories that aren't already all over Instagram. And sometimes it means telling the truth.

That's another place where I think we're hurting ourselves. We've gotten to a point where everything has to be "amazing" because nobody wants to offend anybody.

Every show was amazing? Every designer killed it? Every model slayed? Every event was epic?

Everything can't be amazing!!!!!

Sometimes the show wasn't good. Sometimes the collection needed work. Sometimes the model wasn't ready. Sometimes the pictures weren't good. Sometimes the event was poorly produced.

Saying that doesn't mean we want someone to fail. There is a way to give constructive criticism without tearing people down. But if we love this industry as much as we say we do, then we have to stop lying to each other just to protect feelings.

How do we get better if nobody is allowed to say we need to get better?

Now, let me be VERY clear because I don't want the point of this conversation to get lost. None of this lets corporate America or the mainstream fashion industry off the hook. We can absolutely talk about companies that jumped on the inclusion train when it was popular and then quietly got off at the next stop. We can talk about brands cutting plus-size options. We can talk about the lack of representation. We can talk about companies that want our dollars but don't want our bodies in their campaigns.

Those conversations still need to happen! But two things can be true at the same time.

They can be failing us, and we can be failing ourselves.

We can't keep demanding that they raise their standards when we're not willing to raise ours.

We keep saying we want a seat at the table. Okay. But what are we bringing to it?

If a major retailer walked into one of our fashion shows tomorrow, would we be proud of what they saw? If a national brand went through our models' portfolios, would they see models who were ready to work on that level? If a company interested in advertising visited our websites and social media pages, would what they saw make them comfortable writing a check? If mainstream media came to cover one of our events, would we be excited for the world to see it exactly as it was?

Those are uncomfortable questions. But we need to ask them.

And I'm not asking anyone to be perfect. Lord knows I'm not. I can look back at things I've done with Queen Size Magazine over the years and see things I would NEVER do today. There are decisions I've made that I would make differently now. There are things I've learned the hard way. There are areas where I still have to get better.

But that's growth! The problem isn't that you have something to learn. The problem is believing that you don't.

We have too many people who want bigger opportunities without wanting to become better at what they do. And then when the opportunities don't come, it's easier to blame the industry than it is to ask ourselves whether we're actually ready for them.

Maybe that's the conversation we don’t want to have.

We spend a lot of time asking why people aren't supporting this industry. Maybe we also need to ask ourselves what we're giving them to support.

Because "support us because we're plus-size" can't be the entire strategy.

Support the designer because the clothes are GOOD! Book the model because the model is TRAINED! Hire the photographer because the work is GOOD.! Attend the show because the production is GOOD! Advertise with the publication because the publication is GOOD! Partner with the business because the business is PROFESSIONAL!

Being part of the plus-size industry shouldn't mean asking people to lower their expectations. If anything, knowing how hard we've had to fight to be seen should make us want our work to be that much better.

So yes, Dear Industry, let's continue holding society accountable. Let's keep calling out the corporations. Let's keep demanding inclusion. Let's keep asking why plus-size consumers are still treated like an afterthought when our money spends exactly the same. But while we're pointing that finger outward, we need to pay attention to the ones pointing back at us. We all have a role in where this industry goes from here. So maybe the question isn't only, "What happened to our industry?" Maybe the harder question is: "What am I doing to make it better?"

Because if we want the world to take this industry seriously, we have to make damn sure we're giving them something serious to look at.

Until next time Industry.