Liz Black is a fashion industry veteran, and she’s not happy with the super small sample sizes worn on the runway.
“I’ve worked in a lot of showrooms and have dealt with a lot of runway samples, and I have always marveled at the size difference between those teeny tiny samples and the size of my own body,” Black, 31, tells PEOPLE.
So the fashion blogger decided to pose with samples from high-end designers to illustrate the drastic size difference in a series of photos for the website You Do You. Black hopes the photos “send a message and shock the viewer in a tongue-in-cheek way.”
“The message is to the fashion industry as a whole,” she says. “I definitely feel that the industry has improved in terms of its inclusiveness, but this is one aspect that designers seem to be really not budging on – they still are using homogenous-sized models on the runway.”
Instead, Black wants designers to show clothes on a mix of body types.
“I hope to see the fashion industry become more inclusive,” she says. “It doesn’t mean that we have to lose that body type, and I’m not body shaming people who are naturally thin, but very often these models are being instructed to keep their bodies smaller than they would be naturally to fit into these sample sizes.”
The Jersey City, New Jersey-based writer explains the importance of having more inclusive runway shows.
“Representation is incredibly important, and it starts at this level, because mass marketers look to these high-end designers and what’s coming down the runway,” says Black. “With that trickle-down, it’s important for designers at that level to show inclusivity and representation.”
Too-small sample sizes have also sparked the ire of numerous celebrities.
“There’s brands that don’t want to dress me because I’m not sample size,” Dascha Polanco has said.
“Its one of those things that’s instilled in you, that it’d be really unfortunate for you to not fit the sample size,” Anna Paquin previously said. “I think that’s a shame.”
This article originally appeared on People.com
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