GLP-1 drugs could reshape fashion and body culture

As GLP-1 medications change American bodies and attitudes about weight, a West Virginia University fashion expert says their influence could reach all the way from consumers' closets to designers' drawing boards and retailers' racks.

Katie Baker Jones, associate professor and program coordinator with the Fashion Design and Merchandising program in the School of Art and Design at the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media, is available to discuss her recent study examining the intersection of lifestyle and medical journalism, public discourse surrounding GLP-1 medications, and their growing influence on fashion and body culture.

Quotes:

"I do think GLP-1s are in line with other diet crazes. The difference is it's not just managing caloric intake and a workout regimen; it's a medical intervention. This phenomenon also sits at the intersection of lifestyle media and medical journalism, forcing fashion and lifestyle journalists to cover heavily scientific matter on platforms that are not really engineered for that.

"I've noticed consumer outrage when formerly body positive celebrities who've talked about their love of fashion are now talking about GLP-1s, being able to dress different ways, and enjoying their bodies. Fandom relationships have certainly come under strain with some people even fully rejecting the GLP-1 rise amongst celebrities.

"What right the public has to comment on celebrity women's bodies has always been a part of the conversation, but now GLP-1s have been added into the equation of what you're even allowed to ask about someone's body because this is private medical information. At no point is anyone required to divulge that they're on a particular medication, but then there's also this movement of celebrities trying to be authentic with those who are part of their fandom.

"There haven't been a lot of male celebrities who've come out about their usage of GLP-1s, however, Jim Gaffigan, the stand-up comedian who built an entire career off being a larger body, is one who has. We could certainly compare the feedback he received, which was a blip of a story, to Lizzo, who continues to be dragged through the press and talked about as the epitome of the 'failure' of the body positivity movement. There are conversations about bodies of all genders in this space, but as has always been the case, expectations for male versus female bodies in the public continue to be very distinct.

"There's a wide range of concern that this undid all the work that had been done in the last 10 years for the body positivity movement and a lot of conversation about what happens now when this drug is so widely available.

"There's been a marked decrease of what the industry calls 'curve models,' which could be anything above a size four and talk has circulated about buyers not having to buy as many large and extra-large sizes in size runs because we're presuming everyone's going to be on these drugs.

"The title of the article is 'My Body Has Gone Out of Style,' which is the crux of the issue. It's not just the shape of a sleeve or where a hemline falls, it's that bodies themselves are now subject to fashion. That has been the case before, but what does it mean when a body can trend? Looking at the way trends have impacted us in the past, we need to make sure we've learned the right lessons when it hasn't gone well and learn how we can continue to create space for people of all body sizes within the fashion industry." -

Katie Baker Jones, associate professor and program coordinator, Fashion Design and Merchandising, WVU College of Creative Arts and Media