The fashion industry has been criticized for promoting impossible body images by pressuring models, directly or indirectly, to remain as skinny as possible. Nevertheless, so-called plus-size models have become well-represented in the industry over the past 30 years. In the beginning, it was a necessary business move. The average consumer of women's apparel isn't as thin as the average supermodel, and so designers had to hire women with fuller figures to show off their wares. Eventually, even haute couture houses started hiring larger women, if only to seem different or to prove they weren't prejudiced against anyone who wore a dress size bigger than a 4. Though these women were notably heavier, by any standard most wouldn't be considered overweight. In a different age and profession they would have been deemed "healthy," but as with any endeavor that relies on image, plus-size modeling eventually came under fire when it was learned that some women were using padding to fill out their figures, or indulging on salty food to retain water and thus a zaftig outline, or even undergoing plastic surgery. Apparently, it takes as much effort to remain big as it does to stay small.
Another complaint leveled against plus-size modeling is that it doesn't include all women. Asians tend to be under-represented, a situation that may reflect different cultural trends. Japanese women, for instance, are considered the thinnest in the world when factors such as GDP and height are taken into consideration. In fact, they're getting thinner, a development that could imply an increased susceptibility to eating disorders. The media has a lot to do with such trends, and the slimming of the Japanese female follows norms pushed by celebrities and popular fashion models, like Akemi Darenogare, who is currently sharing with 170,000 Twitter followers her secret to losing 7 kg in three months, which sounds unhealthy but is accepted as an accomplishment.
Consequently, the success of a new magazine that celebrates full-figured women could be seen as a sign that Japanese women aren't going to fade away. La Farfa, an abbreviation of the Italian word for "butterfly," was launched last year, and the first issue sold out its initial printing of 50,000 copies almost immediately. The publisher, Bunkasha, increased the print run for the next issue and sold 100,000 copies. Originally planned as a semi-annual publication, it has been boosted to a bi-monthly. The editor-in-chief recently told Tokyo Shimbun that the purpose of La Farfa is to make larger Japanese women feel normal by not hiding what's natural. They've even run features of their plus-size models in bikinis. "In a conventional fashion magazine you'll never see a roll of fat extending over the waistband," she says. "Our readers appreciate that sort of thing."