Brazil's Plus Size Fashion

Promo photo for 4th Annual Brazilian Plus Size Fashion Weekend

Brazil is better known for skinny half dressed women than for its plus size diaspora.  According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2005), over 40 percent of Brazil's population is overweight.  Despite this fact it's rare to see images of women larger than a size six on television or in magazines.  Brazil is the land of body and image conscious people.  However, the reality is that there are plenty of women who don't look like runway models.  This summer the 4th Annual Brazil Plus Size Fashion Weekend took place in São Paulo.  Created by Reneta Poskus Vas, Journalist and founder of the blog Mulherão, the event continues to grow and receive more attention every year.   

Poskus Vas, is a also former plus-size model and an advocate for the needed change in Brazil.  She understands that a woman doesn't have to be overweight to have difficulty finding stylish clothing.  In the past clothing for fuller women was dowdy and unattractive.  Designers are finally recognizing the need to create for this market.  Labels like Acqua Rosa have made collections to fit sizes bigger than ten.  Brazil's culture has long embraced the ideal of perfection which makes it difficult to break the cycle.  Many women who don't fit the standard can feel intimidated especially when it's so hard to find clothing that fits properly.  Hopefully as the business grows and becomes more mainstream, the stigma of being a healthier weight will subside.  Perhaps one day Brazil will embrace it's curvier side.

Acqua Rosa