The Power of Plus: Inside Fashion's Size-Inclusivity Revolution

by Gianluca Russo

"The Power of Plus will leave you feeling inspired, motivated, and ready to push for real change, as well as confident and encouraged to embrace yourself, just as you are. This is essential reading for anyone who truly cares about the future of fashion, and for anyone who believes in the power of being yourself." —Versha Sharma, editor in chief, Teen Vogue

Plus-size fashion revolutionizes the way women view themselves and their bodies.

Exclusivity runs within the foundation of fashion. While calls for diversity have intensified recently, long-held attitudes are only beginning to change. But through social media, plus-size people have been able to create supportive communities that show their confidence, strength, and beauty.

Plus-size fashionistas have been writing their own narrative for the past three decades, creating a market all on their own that is now worth more than $21 billion. The Power of Plus features interviews with trailblazers such as Tess Holliday, Emme Aronson, Gabi Gregg, and more as it follows the evolution of plus-size fashion from its start on small blogs to its current boom, examining the way this market has changed women's relationships with their bodies and how plus-size fashion is integral to the future success of the industry.

Plus-size fashion is not a PR stunt. It is a culture-changing market created by and for the people who have always deserved to feel stylish but never had the visibility to be . . . until now.

By honoring our progress so far, The Power of Plus celebrates the next stage of the plus-size fashion movement.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, History, Historical

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 16, 2022

Reviews

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a delight to read! It so well covers the history and legacy of plus-size fashion, explores honest conversations about the present situations in the industry, and also opens the doors for endless possibilities for the future. Before this, I’m admittedly not much of a fashion-follower, but have been interested in the body positivity movement, which was my introduction to the author. It really interrogates the reasons why fashion, clothing, and retail have excluded different communities, and the intersectional experiences within those exclusions. Reading it made me realize why I typically have not engaged with fashion - because I’ve never rarely seen myself represented, much less it being discussed from my perspective as a fat man. So as I was reading how excited by these revolutionary models, fashion designers, movements, and communities the author, and the interviewees were in the book, it piqued my interest as to what to learn more about. And makes me want to figure out how to start exploring what my clothing choices can and do say about me, and what I want them to say, especially in a way to reinforce my values of access, justice, and inclusivity. And while this seems like it is a lot to put in one book, the way it’s written makes it an easy read, digestible while packed with information, and made me look forward to each coming chapter.

[Staci (readwithstaci) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative look into plus size fashion and modeling. As someone who works in the fashion industry I think a book like this is important to better understand how plus size customers feel when you don’t have inclusive products.

[Austen Tosone · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Power of Plus is a love letter to the body positivity movement and the people behind it. This book allowed me to see the fashion industry through the lens of the plus consumer and hear about all of the many intricacies and challenges that come with making plus-size fashion truly inclusive and welcoming to all. I particularly loved the chapter centered on New York Fashion Week, which included great commentary from designers like Christian Siriano and Becca McCharen-Tran of Chromat. The Power of Plus touches on all parts of the fashion industry and adjacent industries like beauty, bridal, editorial, TV, and social media. Reading this book truly felt like a catalyst for those of us in the fashion industry to challenge one another to keep improving this space and making it great for all bodies. One quote sums it up well: “for plus-size women, the answer is always community,” and to be able to transform fashion through connection and conversation is truly a powerful thing.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

as someone who didn't think the world of fashion COULD include me...this books inspired a lot of hope! I was interested to find out more about the history of plus sized fashion with the intersection of the body positivity movement/fat liberation. Racial and masculine identities were sprinkled throughout but only got two chapters. I feel like author missed dedicating chapters to disability and queerness; however, heavily consulted people from these backgrounds throughout.

I don't come from a fashion background or heavily interested in fashion so I was quite confused sometimes about modeling and how that process works. I loved the roundtable chapters.

[JazzReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this book and overall I found this book to be very informative. This book had me reflect on my own personal struggles with my body and the ways the beauty industry impacted my thought on what is beautiful. I feel that representation matters on so many levels in our society.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really finished this with tears in my eyes. i have a lot of feelings.

samyra brought me to this book ❤️

this book was extremely validating from a lived experience and also my career experience. i’m really proud of the team i’m on that works hard to make progress in plus size fashion. i’m really so grateful to be a part of that, i’ll never be able to explain it.

it also feels bittersweet reading this in 2025, where society is swinging back to conservatism. some of the progress spoken about in this book has regressed and runways have less body diversity again. but as the author mentions, this fight may continue to take decades and i know we’ll be back.

[Travis Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gianluca Russo has succeeded in writing an entertaining and informative look into the history of the Plus Size fashion industry and community. I could not put this book down and easily read it in a weekend! This book is filled with interviews and stories from top industry leaders and veterans which is absolutely captivating for anyone looking to learn more about the plus size community. The Power of Plus isn’t just a book about the fashion industry - it dives into a lot of topics and experiences that many people share living within today’s society. I love that this isn’t a book filled with toxic-positivity and saccharine mantras about body positivity. The Power of Plus packs a punch too; Russo is not shy to call out racism, fatphobia, colorism and more of society’s evils. The Power of Plus delivers an honest look into what it means to be plus size and navigate a capitalistic society that profits off of people’s insecurities. Russo’s writing style allows for an easy and digestible read that you’ll want to revisit again! Russo does a wonderful job lending his voice on the conversation, but not overpowering the narrative and stories of the folks he’s interviewing.


I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After deciding to learn more about body and fat positivity, I’ve read a number of highly recommended books. After a few of them, I started, realizing that there was a high-level trend to topics that I would hear about, and while I didn’t give in, I was often tempted to skim past some of the themes I’d heard before.
This book centers specifically on plus sizes in the hallowed halls of fashion designers and gives a really good history about the battle that’s been fought for inclusivity in print and on the runway. Yes, some of the themes echoed what I’ve heard before, but this book was focused enough to keep my interest, especially as they broadened the conversation to include race, and also men in plus size fashion, which is something that I haven’t heard as the body positivity movement is often seen as a women identifying only space.
I think this is a really good primer for anyone who is interested in fashion and body politics. The reason for my four stars is because I wish it was actually a little bit longer and dug a little deeper.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author of the book started their writing career as a journalist and it really shows that the author does not have a lot of experience in long form writing. The book is very dependent on quotes from models and doesn't have a lot of synthesis. It feels mostly like one person saying more or less the same thing after another (mostly: fat people should be taken into consideration when clothing brands/designers release products and society as a whole should not shame day people just for being fat). Overall, the book does have a really good message but is very repetitive.

There were also a few quotes from people who really weren't fat (a size 2 and a size 6). I don't really think those recounts were particularly relevant.

I wish that the book had some sort of historical background as well. Very much feels like fashion started in the 90s and time just didn't exist before then. More background in the evolution of the industry would have been nice.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd choice to not include photos in this book! So many times, the author would reference a "legendary" or "industry-changing" photoshoot or model, and then it felt like the book would go "anyway..." and just move on. I want to see what we're talking about here!

Additionally, there were quite a few copy errors within the text that I found distracting. I wish I had enjoyed this read more than I did, because I am a big proponent of body neutrality, but I didn't end up feeling too inspired.

[Tera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look behind the plus-sized fashion industry. Fashion companies and modelling agencies may say that they are willing to be inclusive, but that inclusivity still comes at a price as they still look for that "perfect" figure/shape. Russo interviews many of the models and plus-sized champions and includes personal triumphs and let-downs from within the industry. It was also interesting to note that the "perfect" plus-sized model is size 14/16 (moreso on the 14 side) and anyone who doesn't fit that is seen as other. There's still a lot of work to do...

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obvious how much work and research went into this book. Appreciate Russo's background in reporting on the plus size fashion space. Really enjoyed reading about and from the plus size people I've been following online for so many years. Hope this book finds its way into the hands of all the fat and plus size people who are looking for where they belong in general, but especially in fashion.

Congrats, Gianluca!

[Jo Ann Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book. The writing was terrific and captured the essence of the topic. I learned a lot about Fashion's Size-Inclusivity Revolution and it made me want to explore it more. The stories were inspiring and you could feel the passion that the women and the men had for the topic. The way the book progressed was so well done and the chapters were so placed. I would recommend this book to anyone!

[Guavemily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant read! You can tell the author is so passionate and informed on the industry and the need for equality in sizing throughout. The writing did get a big bogged down by quotes and a repeat of the book’s overall thesis, but all the featured models, designers, and activists had very lovely things to say in those quotes.

Favorite Line: “If designing for a size 14 gal is too hard to fathom, then perhaps designing for the future of fashion is not the career path one should choose.”

[Kate T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book all about plus-size fashion. I learned a lot (like how current plus size body shapes are preferred and some times models are padded!) and appreciated the oral history aspect of different plus size aspects, but I kinda wished there was more analysis.

[Maggie Wince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about the fashion industry standards and how they are changing toward inclusivity but not at the speed in which they need to.

It’s a good read and I got it from the @rapidcitypubliclibrary

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book for someone who doesn't know a lot about fashion and the struggles that have occurred in the scene. I didn't love the interviews, as they felt out of place, and the name-dropping felt forced despite not recognizing any of them.

[Katy Suttorp · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

[Candy Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Power of Plus... a surprisingly quick read, this inspiring document illustrates the challenges plus size models face, what fashion houses are doing to change the world of fashion through sizing and accessibility, and touches on racism and fat phobia issues. The book reads more like an angry newspaper column/ lengthy blog post and less like a documentary, but contains valid arguments.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The struggles and accomplishments of the size-inclusivity movement written by a (self-proclaimed) fat man who has covered the fashion industry for many years. Combines his research, reportage, and personal experiences in an interesting and engaging book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You can't change the story without changing the story tellers"

This was a really good overview of the history, ups, and downs of the fashion industries approach to (or ignoring of) inclusive fashion. As someone who watched "Top Model" and "Project Runway" I appreciated the lens of critique from the early days of the shows and the juxtaposition approach that shows like Project Runway and even Making the Cut are taking now in terms of inclusivity and representation. It also provided some reflection moments about my own negative self-talk and the biases that I've internalized.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved elements of this book, but for purporting to be so progressive, the use of the word "gal" was grating. Otherwise, some great concepts.