Wait, Are Those Belly Rolls We See On A Model In Sabyasachi’s Photoshoot? This Is What Body Positivity Actually Looks Like
We see women with back fat, belly rolls and cellulite in real life all the time. That’s how real women look, right? However, the brands who cater to us real, imperfect women often cast models who don’t look like us at all to endorse their stuff. Fashion photoshoots are infamous for promoting unrealistic standards of beauty and perpetuating negative body image issues. By showing super skinny models with great skin, long legs and tiny waist, they sort of represent a very false idea of how women should ideally look.
I’ll admit that a lot of brands are now jumping on the bandwagon of body positivity and do cast curvy models but the tummy rolls still don’t feature in the pictures. They are either edited out or the models are snapped in a way that their rolls aren’t visible. Sabyasachi is above all these gimmicks and believes in showing real women in his fashion campaigns. The photos of his latest collection are winning the internet for this reason.
He smashed the stereotype of casting standard sized and fair models for fashion shoots in 2019 by making the gorgeous Varshita Thatavarthi his muse for his bridal couture collection ‘Charbagh’ and this time it’s Appoorva Rampal proudly showing off her curves and tummy rolls in the 2021 collection Heritage Bridal. She is wearing a red Sabyasachi saree and jewellery and it’s the realistic angle that shows her stomach rolls, unedited, exactly how we have seen women wearing sarees in our lives. It’s nice to see what’s normal and natural in a photoshoot of a huge fashion label since it implies that skinny is not the ideal body type in fashion, but all shapes and sizes should be embraced and celebrated.
Also Read: Varshita Thatavarthi Is A Model Who Didn’t Get Work For Being Dusky And Curvy. Till She Got Her Break With Sabysachi
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People on the internet are hyping the shoot and loving the pictures. Although it is not entirely groundbreaking to see something so real and relatable on Sabya’s page, it’s refreshing to see the real body fat and rolls on a model. A user commented, “This is how people look like, finally someone is designing and endorsing some real curves.” Another user wrote, “Absolutely beautiful portrayal. Fashion was, is, and will be for all ages, all body types, going beyond conventional presentations and simply just being yourself : most importantly having an effortless confidence that makes you glow from within.” This is the true representation of real women in fashion and we would like other brands to take a leaf out of Sabyasachi’s books.
Although the majority of fashion brands have curvy models in their shoots, we seldom see them showing belly fat. With the firm tummy skin and no rolls in sight, they still look far from real. I remember seeing a plus size model with abs in a lingerie shoot once. These pictures look perfect and aesthetic but lose the whole point of body positivity and why they cast diverse models in the first place.
The lie is in the angle. And I should know this because I’ve basically mastered the art of faking a leaner body in my Instagram photos. We all have held our breath at one point ‘for the gram’. However, Sabyasachi’s pictures taken from the right and realistic angle which lets the model show off her rolls is exactly what body positivity looks like. We are here for it.
