Is Myla Dalbesio ‘plus sized’? Not according to Calvin Klein
CALVIN Klein have been embroiled in controversy after Myla Dalbesio, face of their latest lingerie line, revealed she was “definitely bigger” than any model before her.
FASHION label Calvin Klein have been embroiled in controversy after Myla Dalbesio, face of their latest lingerie line, revealed she was “definitely bigger” than any Calvin Klein model before her.
“I’m a bigger girl ... I’m not the biggest girl on the market but I’m definitely bigger than all the girls [Calvin Klein] has ever worked with, so that is really intimidating,” she told Elle.com in a widely-shared and tweeted quote.
Indeed, when you look at her contemporaries which include the likes of Jordan Dunn, you can see where she’s coming from. The only problem is, she was never hired as a plus sized model — Twitter diagnosed her as one, and the media followed suit.
WTF @CalvinKlein --this is your "plus-size model"? Give me a freaking break! http://t.co/Wk6MbzwY9t #calvinkleinisclueless
— Sharon Bueno (@ohiometgirl31) November 10, 2014Twitter explodes as Calvin Klein says THIS is ‘plus size’ | http://t.co/B5pyxqTEXQ http://t.co/nFsNW3OUdW via @hlntv
— Caitlin Roper (@caitlin_roper) November 9, 2014She must have big feet bc she ain't plus sized 😩RT @HereIsMySpout: So. Calvin Klein has a "plus size" model. Kay. pic.twitter.com/x4nFiAyYHz"
— Mlle. Tootsie Roll (@DivaDee1114) November 7, 2014there goes the fashion industry being gross again. Calvin Klein’s New ‘Plus-Size’ Model Is a Size 10 http://t.co/4C2isTNfXa
— Samar (@samar_ismail) November 10, 2014This model is not "plus size," Calvin Klein. She's model size. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous. http://t.co/eugLTNSDHA
— Kate Leaver (@kateileaver) November 10, 2014Calvin Klein's understanding of a "plus-sized" woman is a waste of time says @fit_vs_fiction http://t.co/TgzybiLncS via @HuffPostCaLiv
— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) November 10, 2014A little concerned Calvin Klein is referring to this as "plus size." pic.twitter.com/dQXJobay6A
— c o r s o (@WhyofCorso) November 10, 2014Calvin Klein have been quick to dismiss any notion that Dalbesio was employed as a plus size model.
“The new Calvin Klein Underwear Perfectly Fit imagery features models Myla Dalbesio, Jourdan Dunn, Amanda Wellsh, Ji Hye Park and the face of the brand, Lara Stone, in several styles,” they said in a statement to the New York Times.
“The Perfectly Fit line was created to celebrate and cater to the needs of different women, and these images are intended to communicate that our new line is more inclusive and available in several silhouettes in an extensive range of sizes.”
In fact, Dalbesio herself rejected the notion that Calvin Klein hired her as ‘plus sized’ when Elle suggested it. In the now-infamous interview which no-one actually read to the bottom of, she praises Calvin Klein’s choosing of her, indicating that it represents progress in the industry.
“I’m in the middle,” she says. “I’m not skinny enough to be with the skinny girls and I’m not large enough to be with the large girls and I haven’t been able to find my place. This [campaign] was such a great feeling.
“It’s not like [Calvin Klein] released this campaign and were like ‘Whoa, look, there’s this plus size girl in our campaign. They released me in this campaign with everyone else; there’s no distinction. It’s not a separate section for plus size girls.”
She also confirmed to TIME that “plus size was never part of the picture in any way.”
Dalbesio indicates that the industry is still not perfect — “I don’t know about that runway though, that’s going to be a hard one to tackle” — and it is, of course, concerning that a size 10 model says that she is “not skinny enough to be with the skinny girls”. But that is a separate issue, and what is implicitly clear is that Dalbesio is proud of the Calvin Klein campaign for, at the very least, getting rid of these size distinctions and labels.
So the lesson here? As always, read to the bottom, and think before you tweet.