Among the ranks of models who have remained anonymous in the eyes of the general public, Paloma Elsesser manages to stand out, not because she is Nepo, darling like Kendall Jenner, Gigi or Belle Hadid, but rather because she is one of the rare plus size models. So much so that in December 2023 the British Fashion Council awarded her the Model of the Year award at the Fashion Awards. However, in a personal essay for the media Cutting published February 15, 2024, Paloma Elsesser says she prayed not to win this award, tired of being the first plus size top » succeeding in this or that and the violence that this entails. In fact, once he received this award, the comments areas of his social networks received torrents of fatphobia that led him to close his accounts, he says.
Paloma Elsesser: “I too sometimes find myself too ugly, fat, short and a terrible model”
It is with disarming sincerity that Paloma Elsesser explains the wave of crude cyber harassment she has suffered:
“Does the commenter know that I too sometimes find myself too ugly, fat, short and a terrible model? I thought of myself as a flawed person: this dark, chubby, mentally ill girl with a messy house who constantly struggled to open the mail. Modeling has changed my narrative and given me a purpose in challenging the norms about our bodies that I too have been indoctrinated into. My body has become a vehicle of connection. A vessel of reflection. »
The more fame she gains as a model, the more violent comments she has to face, which can be disheartening, she continues:
“Yet I can’t help but think that if I hide, fatphobia will win and many potential earnings will be erased. »
Paloma Elsesser is tired of being the plus size exception that confirms the reign of thinness in fashion
While the fashion industry seems to be getting tired of body positivity (less than 1% of models in the spring-summer 2024 shows were plus size), Paloma Elsesser expresses her ambivalent feeling of being the exception that proves the rule: acting as Guarantee plus sizes for a fatphobic industry. She summarizes her tokenization of her as follows:
“The industry may hold space for some names like mine, but firmly closes the door to countless others. The pride of being part of a list of “firsts” disappears. Being the first plus size model for a campaign loses its importance when the brand fails to open the doors to the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh. »
This open letter by Paloma Elsesser published by Cutting therefore calls into question the entire sector, its performance efforts in terms of inclusiveness, but also more generally the view that our Western societies have on fat people:
“There may be times when I would like to be able to progress easily in this area. But sometimes the work is hard and the distinctions are scary. Maybe I deserve to be recognized not only for the victories, but also for the commitment, the struggle and the hope that it might matter to someone else. Is it so bad if we start to believe that we deserve something? »
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
