Ashley Graham Says Fashion Designers Still Tell Her ‘We’re Just Not Going to Design Something for a Bigger Body’ (Exclusive)

Ashley Graham still faces resistance from some designers when she asks them to make clothes for her.

“There are still some designers who have said, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t, we’re just not going to design something for a larger body,’” she tells PEOPLE while appearing at Good Americana’s open casting event at The Row in Los Angeles on Saturday.

“Things have changed a lot in some ways and just put an end to others,” she continues. “And that’s why I’m not going to stop talking about my body and dressing bigger people because it’s not the norm yet.”

Ashley Graham at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023.

Arturo Holmes/Getty

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Graham, 36, is clear that most of the time designers want to make clothes for her, especially if they represent a newer brand. But the way the industry is currently structured, it costs more money to make clothes that fit and look flattering on larger-bodied people, she explains.

The world-famous model openly said that she sometimes pays for extra fabric herself so that designers who really don’t have money but can’t wait to make clothes for her get a chance.

“It’s not a negative thing by any means, but it’s still where we are as a society,” Graham tells PEOPLE.

Casting call for The Good American.

Ashley Graham/Instagram

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She explained that the grading system, or the way fabric is priced, is a big factor for plus-sized women in the fashion industry. A lot of the infrastructure in the industry just isn’t set up to accommodate plus size women.

Graham says that while the industry is changing, more progress needs to be made.

“If you look at the runways, not much has changed,” she continues. “If you look at designers, some of them dress different body types, but that’s not the norm.”

The mother-of-three said that while some magazines and media outlets featured bigger bodies more regularly, “it was this little creep”.

Ashley Graham.

Ashley Graham/Instagram

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According to Graham, designers are missing out on a lot of money by refusing to dress people, especially women, who are a size 12 and up. She cited Good American co-founder Emma Grede as one of the few designers offering clothing for that population.

“Is it fat phobia? Is it because they’re afraid to look like they’ve fallen into commercialism? Is it because they don’t have the ability to understand what the right assessment is on different body types when it comes to breasts, stomach, buttock cellulite? I don’t know,” Graham says, pondering the problem.

Good American’s open casting call on Saturday was an opportunity to start conversations and take action to make the fashion industry more inclusive.

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Source: HIS Education