Barbie Ferreira has blasted high-end designers for excluding curvy women after Leslie Jones criticised high-end labels for refusing to help her dress for the Ghostbusters premiere.
Jones triggered a debate about the fashion industry after threatening to name designers she claimed did not want to help her with a dress for the forthcoming premiere on Twitter.
Her tweets created a storm that surprised even the comedian herself and saw designer Christian Siriano step forward to offer his services for the event on 9 July.
US size 16 Ferreira's un-retouched swimsuit images went viral earlier this year. Campaigns for major fashion brands followed and she was chosen as the face of Beth Ditto’s plus size range.
Ferreira, 19, addressed the furore on Twitter, claiming women who do not fit standard sample sizes are prohibited from exploring high-end fashion.
“Curvy women are not allowed to be edgy, not allowed to be stylish or allowed to explore their looks like everyone else in this industry," she wrote.
“So don't expect much from my designer looks in the future until people wake tf up.
“And hearing an actress in a huge film having similar struggles… Girl I feel hopeless. Am I gonna have to wear Sears when I win my Oscar?”
Designers responding to Jones' claims insisted the issue over dressing her would be about timing, claiming Jones would need to let designers know if she wanted to be dressed by them in advance because she wouldn’t fit sample sizes.
“This is nobody’s fault except Leslie’s,”stylist Jessica Paster told Pret a Reporter. ”She should have known four to five months ago the date of premiere, and said, ‘I’m not a sample size, I need to go to designers early or buy myself a dress.’ Don’t be blaming designers and saying they don’t like you.”
