The new season of Britain’s Next Top Model has started, and already, one of the first from the pack to be cut off was plus size model Simone Clark (a 21 year old from East Yorkshire).
The series has a new panel of judges this year, with one of them being fashion designer Julian MacDonald.
I would imagine that Julian MacDonald lost a lot of support on the show from its viewers when he claimed that it would be a ‘joke’ if the winner was bigger than a size 6 or 8.
He even referred to aspiring models that were bigger than a size 8 as a ‘joke’.
During the show Julian MacDonald has not been one of Simone’s biggest fans, even commenting on one of her photos that she looks like someone from a cheap catalogue and nothing more.
Simone Clark was obviously not fazed by this opinion, and although only a size 12, was still branded as a plus-size model on Britain’s Next Top Model.
She said herself on the show:
“I’m totally happy, healthy and comfortable in my own skin. It does not bother me being called a plus size model. I am a lucky girl to be a model. I absolutely love doing it”.
Simone took a tumble on the catwalk when it was her turn to impress the judges with her catwalk walk – in front of all the other contestants as well.
Whilst Simone’s shoot wasn’t one of the best, and she did take that tumble of the catwalk, did those two episodes really warrant her being booted off the show?
From the clips I’ve seen there were shoots that were a lot worse than hers – and those contestants managed to get through to the final 14.
In my opinion, Julian MacDonald’s view on plus-size models counted for a lot, and was definitely a factor in helping to cut Simone from the show.
Once again it is examples like this that demonstrate how the fashion industry is still confused and backward when it comes to accepting plus size fashion and the models that advertise it.
Can Simone Clark, a size 12, really be called a plus-size model in the first place?
A cynical view would be that Britain’s Next Top Model only put the larger model on the show in the beginning merely to advertise the fact that they are ‘fair’ and to convey some weak message that all sizes can model – yet its attempt at doing this failed miserably with Julian MacDonald’s comments and the fact it kicked Simone off first chance it got.
What do you think?
To see a clip of Simone Clark talking about her experience on Britain’s Next Top Model, go to FabSugar.co.uk.
Size 12 is the average size of women and should be used to model the latest fashions designed for average sizes. Plus size women wear Plus Size Clothing is that not obvious to everyone!!
I think she was most likely chosen to the show only to give the fashion industry a more ‘healthy look’. That seemes to be the pattern of these shows. And really, 12 is no plus size.