Erin O'Connor Quotes

There's all body types, but there's just one size.

The biggest thing politically within fashion is that the clothing should be displayed on different body shapes.

We're getting to this amazing place where the average size in America is a 14-16, and we're starting to see that represented in the fashion industry, and it's becoming more accepted.

It can be very hard to find clothing for different body shapes. After all, there are only, what, five companies for plus-size women?

My first shoot was on a rooftop in swimsuits with two plus-size models who were curvy and voluptuous and beautiful, and they taught me so much about being beautiful in any shape or size.

Society has a hyper emphasis on thin, and that trend comes from the consumers - it does not come from the fashion industry. The fashion industry needs to make money; that's what we do. If people said, 'We want a 300 pound purple person,' the first industry to do it would be fashion.

Casting plus size girls needs to be genuine.

For so long, the fashion industry has designed almost exclusively for a particular woman with particular measurements, and they've never really been challenged on it. We're all consumers, yet we're rarely given a voice within this industry that dictates what we wear.

Designers still won't dress me, and if they do, they will send a dress that doesn't fit me because it's the only sample that they have in their office that we can get to in time, and then it's hard because I don't want to support certain brands that I don't feel like are diverse in their messaging.

Some people say there's a reason that Victoria's Secret wouldn't put me or any woman who doesn't fit within a certain spectrum on the runway.

Designers are either not interested in making larger sizes or they don't feel that it's important.

I felt the term 'plus size' was inaccurate and kept all these beautiful, stunning women with the widest spectrum of body types I've ever seen - mind you, curvy agencies start at a size 6 and go up to a size 18 - from being seen and resonated with.

I find it infuriating that in this industry, size 10 and above is defined as 'plus size,' especially when the average dress size in the U.K. is a 16.

I'm representing the curvy girls and that's great.

There's no conversation happening between plus-size women and designers. The door is never open.

Plus-size is a term that's never been used in hate; no one has ever used it in a negative way. The industry has always used it to help us identify where to shop.

Fashion can always be a part of your life no matter what shape or size you are. You don't need to feel like you have to fit into a box because you aren't a certain size that your favorite designer carries.

At the end of the day, it just means 'curvy.' That's why I think the word 'plus-size' in the industry is very different from people's mind view of what 'plus-size' really should mean.

I think if more designers designed clothes with a more fuller figure in mind, it would represent women in a greater sense.

The message behind every brand that's plus size is about making a woman feel confident in any shape or size. Now straight size, it's all about the signature brand and how to look good in that one brand, and not necessarily how to look good for yourself.

I'd love there to be more larger models, but it's just not going to happen. Designers love to design for slim girls.

I've been on both sides: the victim and the villain. I was the victimised model, and everything from my weight to my fertility was held up for discussion. And then I was the person that could garner some kind of positive outcome, by taking on the role of vice chairman of the British Fashion Council and becoming an activist of body image.

I think the responsibility lies with the fashion world as a collective. We have to demand more variety.

To me, I always felt like I was carrying a torch for women of any size to be themselves - it doesn't matter whether you're a size 2 or a 22, just be who you are.

Fashion is quite inclusive and good at embracing different things and different forms of beauty. It's a very liberal industry. You can be yourself. Just not overweight.