Popular fashion designer Falguni Peacock has been called out on social media after she body-shamed plus size brides in an interview. Asked to offer her expertise on how a plus-size woman could prep for her wedding day, the designer said the bride should try and “lose a couple of inches” and stay away from short blouses and deep necklines.
“Obviously I won’t blatantly tell her to lose weight,” Peacock says, in response to the anchor’s request for tips. “I would say you have enough time, work on it. I think it’s pretty easy to lose a couple of inches or so.”
Slightly taken aback by Peacock’s failure to even answer the original question, which was to recommend clothing styles for a plus-size bride, the anchor repeats, “And if they can’t lose, what advise do you give them while picking up a garment [or] while choosing what to wear?”
“What flatters them,” the designer responds. “Usually they can do a long blouse, a more flared lehenga [that is] not fitted because fitted won’t really work when you’re a little big. And no deep necks for them, a little higher.”
The clip went viral on the internet after an Instagram user posted it with a scathing comment.
Others commented with their personal stories. “This is so sad. I have been through a similar situation where the designer told me to lose weight because the garment wasn’t fitting me well. It’s so sad that people disregard plus size people when it comes to being fashionable and stylish.”
Some users expressed that actor Sara Ali Khan – who was also part of the interview as Peacock’s FDCI India Couture Week 2019 show-stopper and has, in the past, spoken about dealing with PCOS and weight issues as a teenager – should have spoken up, or stopped the designer. Khan, however, remained mum throughout.
Some users jumped into the debate, defending Khan saying, “I can see that @saraalikhan95 is uncomfortable by this and I understand that she really couldn’t say much, since she’s sitting there, wearing her clothes and was going to/ had walked the ramp for that design. Don’t hate on Sara guys, she couldn’t have done anything at that moment. All she can do now is chose not to work with them again.”
Yet others did not see any issue with what the designer had said and posted comments in her defence. “What she said was advice on how plus-size brides can look elegant and graceful in their outfit,” wrote one user who calls themselves @sharmajikibachhi. “Let’s not forget that plunging necklines reveal a lot and if a plus-size bride would wear it on her wedding it would much rather look slutty than elegant and nobody would wanna look slutty and inappropriate on their own wedding day. The bride would wanna look like a queen instead.”
Falguni Peacock meanwhile, apologised for the comments. “Having dealt with body issues all my life (and am still dealing with them) I realise that we should wear what we want and what makes us happy,” she wrote in a comment.
The controversy comes at a time when the push for body positivity among all genders is higher than ever. With a pushback against airbrushed magazine images and body stereotypes, more young women are being encouraged to be their natural selves instead of starving themselves or spending years being insecure and depressed about how they look.
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