Posted by: Gen V. Caracena

Gary Dakin, the man who gave a big part of his life for the cause of plus size woman is now reaping the fruits of his labor. After all the struggles that he had gone through just to push the plus size agenda for over a decade, finally the fashion industry is starting to pay attention to him and to understand what he has been fighting for. Not just Dakin is reaping the fruits of his labor, but the rest of the plus size industry.

This man with a passion for the plus size woman came from a humble background in Western Massachusetts. Dakin has always appreciated and loved the beauty of the bigger woman. This is the kind of beauty that he grew up with. His best friend at school was a big girl standing six feet tall, and his beloved grandmother was also a big woman. In fact,  the comfort of his grandmother surrounded him in his growing up years.

Dakin is a handsome guy in his early 40’s. In his twenties he tried to pursue modeling, but he gave up because he detested the lack of control that the career had afforded him, and the idea of rejection simply because of appearance. He admitted he is gay, which he knew since he was 8. He empathizes with plus size girls because being gay, he knew and understood how it feels to be the subject of ridicule and discrimination simply on the basis of how one looks.

Dakin used to head the New York’s Karin Models’ Curves Division, but had to leave after a short period to develop and run the Ford agency’s Ford 12 + model division in their New York Office.  Ford Models is one of the world’s best known, one of the oldest and most respected modeling agencies. It has an impressive number of plus size models in the ranks with offices being located in a number of key cities, not just in the US.  Ford Plus Division was the first and the longest existing plus division in the industry with locations in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

For over a decade Dakin had struggled in his goal to get plus size girls into the mainstream fashion.  In a society that embraces sizeism, many in the fashion industry used to frown at plus size models and some clients would not give them an opportunity. At the advent of size “0″ during the nineties nobody wanted to shoot plus size images. With this reality, Dakin could not even introduce himself before as someone that comes from the plus division.

Dakin represents Crystal Renn, his biggest star whose total income according to him had gone close to 7 figures. He has served as a father figure to Renn because she grew up not knowing who her father was.  In fact he walked Renn down the aisle during her wedding. Renn is only one among the top ranking plus size models that Dakin represents.  He was responsible for their manifold spreads in mainstream magazines like V Magazine and French Elle that featured an editorial spread of Tara Lynn in a special plus size issue.  Lynn is also one of his top models.

After a decade of time, Dakin had proven himself right fighting for the cause of plus size women. Payback time had started for him and for the rest of the plus size industry. The modeling industry had started to reshape giving true representation to real sized women. Along with their skinny counterparts, plus size models are now gaining grounds and prominence on the runways, on television and on prints.

Plus size models are starting to receive a place of importance in the mainstream and skinny-oriented fashion weeks. For instance, plus size models through the OneStopPlus.com conquered the runways of the mainstream New York Fashion Week last September 2010. Also in September 2010, the world’s renowned event, the London Fashion Week welcomed All Walks Beyond the Catwalk that featured models of diversity.

At the last Toronto Fashion Week, Canadian Project Runway Champion Sunny Fong showcased his VAWK Spring/Summer 2011 Collection where he featured an eclectic set of models from all walks.

Young and even seasoned designers, fashion photographers and other fashion enthusiasts are beginning to change their perspective about size, color and age.  It can also be recalled that Karl Lagerfeld used to dislike shooting curvy women, but surprisingly he has now photographed plus size models for magazines. To top it all, he sent Crystal Renn to the runway during the presentation of his Chanel Resort 2011 Collection in France. Please click below related articles.¹

Kudos to Dakin and to all others whose dedication to curvy women has revolutionized the fashion industry.

¹Related Articles:

All Walks Beyond The Catwalk Celebrates Beauty

OneStopPlus.com Spring 2011 Runway Show: A Milestone For Plus Size Fashion

VAWK Spring/Summer 2011 Collection: A Paradigm Shift

Chanel Resort 2011 Features Crystal Renn