The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 – The All-Comers Event

Here’s my honest review of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2. Was it the empowering, uplifting event we were promised?

This weekend I attended the inaugural Official British Plus-Size Fashion Weekend (BPSFW).

The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 event comprised two days of activities:

1. a ‘press day’ and bloggers’ meet-and-greet event on the Friday, which you can read about here, and
2. an ‘all-comers’ day on the Saturday that was open to anyone who wished to attend.

Although I was able to attend the press event on Friday at my own cost, I didn’t have the extra money to be able to afford to also go to The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 on the Saturday (a ticket for the day cost around £50 and then there was my train fare on top, which isn’t cheap). I was therefore absolutely thrilled to be asked by the lovely people at F&F Clothing to cover it on their behalf. They kindly covered my travel costs and paid for my ticket to the event. Thank you!

After another very convoluted and difficult journey by public transport to Shoreditch, which isn’t on a tube line, I arrived at The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 venue – Shoreditch Town Hall – shortly after midday and duly went to the reception desk to check in. I’m sorry to report that I wasn’t even greeted, just asked for my ticket, and was provided with a wristband to wear for the day. 

I had to ask the person at reception where things were happening and I was given a very brief and rather gruff explanation as to where the rooms were and what would be taking place when. I wasn’t given a programme of activities for The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 so I had to rely on memory as to what time everything would be happening…and ‘where’ was another matter entirely as none of the rooms or sessions were signposted or labelled so I spent the day following other people round in the hope that they knew more than I did but in truth they were probably just as much in the dark as I was!

After popping into the room where the brands were exhibiting, I bumped into the lovely Emma from Fashion Mommy. We were both attending The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 courtesy of F&F Clothing so it made sense for us to buddy up and spend the day together, plus it was good to have someone with whom to share the experience (and the ‘nuances’ of the event!).

After discovering that there was no cloakroom to leave our heavy winter coats (and that the ladies’ toilets were actually men’s, with only three cubicles (for 100+ women!) but complete with a row of urinals!!), we decided to head upstairs and check out the first of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2’s events: the Styling Masterclass hosted by Hannah Jean from Find My Style.

Due to not having been provided with any kind of programme or time guidance for The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2’s events we unfortunately missed the introduction of this session but when we entered the room half the women present were using fabric colour swatches to find out what colours worked best for them, while the other half were filling in a questionnaire about what they associated with particular colours. It seemed rather odd as a group activity (filling in forms individually is not particularly collaborative) so we decided to opt out of this part and instead took the chance to chat with Bethany from Arched Eyebrow and Mouna from Brussels Fatshion.

Hannah, the woman hosting the activity, seemed really sweet but unfortunately the acoustics in the room were terrible and I could barely hear her. Yes, I was sitting towards the back and I do have hearing loss, but even if I’d been closer to the front I don’t think it would have been much better. 

I also didn’t understand the point of this undoubtedly well-meaning session – the vast majority of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 attendees were bloggers and therefore were already very stylish and seemed very well aware of the colours and clothing shapes and styles that work for them. It seemed a peculiar choice to include it as part of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 and it would have surely been better suited to an audience comprising the general public instead.

We were quietly relieved to be able to leave the activity a little early without fear of reprisal at 1pm when we joined the The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 Model 101 session with Anna Shillinglaw from Milk Model Management. Anna used to be a model herself and now runs one of the top model agencies in the UK.

The session was a mixed bag for me. It was certainly interesting hearing from Anna and her two colleagues – both of whom were models currently on the MM books – but by the end of the session I felt that the discussion hadn’t provided me with any information that I hadn’t heard before. 

I also felt there was a negative spin on the talk, and the attitudes of Anna and her colleagues were very old-fashioned and unprogressive. For example, at the beginning Anna told us that you had to be at least 5’8 to be a model. She later changed that to 5’9, and then to 5’10. We were told that you couldn’t have tattoos if you wanted to be a model, nor body piercings. 

I don’t have any tattoos myself and only have single piercings in my earlobes but nonetheless I found this piece of information rather ironic as I was sitting next to Bethany who has modelled for Evans and has facial piercings that are clearly visible. The same goes for Georgina from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust, who has multiple piercings and tattoos, as well as Teer Wayde, who is signed to Bella Model Management.

Interestingly, this session was supposed to be only for those who’d booked places in advance but at least three of us who hadn’t done so managed to get in (perhaps unsurprisingly there was no-one checking a list of names on the door).

When the session started there were probably only around 20 people present altogether (including presenters etc), so The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 event organisers must have been expecting many more attendees as there were a LOT of empty seats. And, just like upstairs, this room also had terrible acoustics and not a microphone in sight. There were various people taking photos during the session and sound of their heels echoed around the mostly empty room, making it even harder to hear what the presenters were saying.

Again, I struggled to see the point of this activity as it did not bring to the fore anything new that hadn’t already been said in a magazine, on a tv documentary or on the internet somewhere. It begs the question as to why it was deemed appropriate to be included as part of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2.

What was interesting, however, was to see in the flesh some of the plus-sized models Milk Management have on their books. All were beautiful women of different shapes and sizes but of course none were any larger than a size 16. This didn’t initially seem like an issue to because I am a similar size (although shorter, so I suppose I would work out larger proportionally) but some women in the audience were understandably very cross about it.

Many plus-size people – bloggers included – don’t appreciate the fact that the fashion industry classes plus size as being a UK size 12 upwards, so it’s unusual for models above a size 16 to be used. This can be frustrating as how is a size 22 woman, for example, supposed to know how a garment might fit her if the brand only ever presents it on a model who is at least 3 sizes smaller than her? This is of course the reason we need plus size blogs (and events such as The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2!) so that outfits can be seen upon a wide range of bodies and sizes.

On the other side of the coin, I myself experience negativity because I am seen by certain plus size bloggers as “not being plus-sized” because I can often fit into a size 10 or 12 in dresses made from stretchy fabrics due to having a comparatively small waist. There have been many occasions, both online and in person, where I have been shut out and excluded by sections of the plus size community, which feels unnecessary and hurtful.

The irony is that in non-stretchy fabrics (which I don’t tend to wear as I don’t get a good fit due to my out-in-out proportions) I need a size 16, 18 or 20. In fact, my much-admired red Collectif Ashley coat that I wore on Saturday is a size 18 and I would probably do better with a 20.

So I am very definitely plus-sized but because of my proportionately smaller waist I can sometimes fit into ‘straight sized’ clothing. In fact, I am in that tricky ‘mid size’/’small fat’ echo chamber between the two size categories and all too often neither fits me properly as most clothes are not catered for my needs.

Either way, I don’t think it’s helpful or indeed kind to shun or exclude anyone. I started blogging to try to help others so it came as a nasty shock to encounter such behaviour, and it doesn’t get any easier to handle. It feels so unnecessary as there is more than enough room for us all – we all have a voice and there is a potential audience out there that will listen to and support each of us. There is no need to create petty competition and rivalries. We can and should all try to get on. Solidarity and sisterhood, not enemies and envy.

Indeed, for every person who might bemoan the fact I can fit into smaller sized stretchy clothes, there are just as many plus size bloggers of whom I am envious as they can fit their shapely legs and small ankles into knee high boots or skinny jeans (my chunky calves and ankles could never!). We are all different but instead of making that a reason for separation and jealousy I truly believe we should celebrate what makes us unique and find strength and solidarity in our similarities.

But, I digress. Time to get back to my analysis of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2!

From 2pm, following Anna’s talk we had some free time to speak with the brands in the main exhibition area at The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2. Unfortunately, just like yesterday, the room was far too small for all the brands on show and yet again I missed lots of people that I wanted to talk to.

However, I did get to catch up with the lovely ladies at Scarlett & Jo again and I enjoyed browsing their rails of beautiful fashions. I hear that there’s lots more exciting pieces to come soon – I can’t wait to see them!

I also enjoyed talking with the fab team from Live Unlimited, whose new range at Evans goes live next month – am SO excited for this! I loved their stunning black maxi dress that I modelled at the Evans Shape Studio event (you might have seen a pic of this on my Facebook page) – I’ve a post to write about this soon.

There was great fun to be had at The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 Curvissa stand, where attendees were asked to dress the mannequin in their favourite outfit. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to do this as there was always lots of women waiting whenever I checked so it was clearly a very popular activity!

One of my highlights of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 has got to be meeting the fabulous Velvet D’Amour. For those of you who don’t know her, Velvet is an international plus-size model and renowned photographer. You can check out her work here.

Velvet is one of the most unique, extroverted and outlandish people I have ever met – the complete opposite of me! – and I utterly adored her! I loved how she has oodles of self-confidence and a kick-ass attitude to boot. What a superstar. I need to take some leaves out of her book myself.

It was also a great pleasure to chat with the beautiful and super talented Anna Scholz again. I had previously met Anna last year at Plus London Two and today she looked as gorgeous as ever in one of her very own designs. Such a gracious and friendly lady. Many pieces from her new collection featured on the catwalk during The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 fashion show that was yet to come – spoiler: they were stunning!

During the afternoon of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 there was a Clothes Swap but Emma and I missed out on it because we were told by another blogger that those who had not brought clothes to swap were not allowed in. That was a real pity because it would’ve been interesting to look in to see how the swap was progressing, even if we weren’t able to join in with the actual swapping. From what I heard it wasn’t especially successful so I wonder if letting in some non-swappers who just wanted to be nosy and have a browse might’ve helped to create a more lively atmosphere.

At around 3pm, feeling rather lightheaded and in need of sustenance, Emma and I decided to go out and get something to eat. Unfortunately at The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2’s venue there were no refreshments available at all (big mistake) so instead we were forced to wander the streets of Shoreditch looking for somewhere to buy a sandwich. 

As it was some time since we’d last eaten or drunk anything we had got to the point where we were so hungry and thirsty that we couldn’t decide what we wanted to eat so none of the local eateries looked appealing. 

In fact, we ended up returning to the Nisa mini-market across the road from Shoreditch Town Hall where we finally bought some food. I opted for a vegetable pastry and a bottle of Innocent apple juice. There was nowhere inside the venue for people to sit and chat (or eat!) so we had no choice but to stand outside in the street and eat our snack lunch. Not very dignified or relaxing.

At 4pm we headed back inside the venue to attend The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2’s next event: the Plus-Size Panel Discussion.

The panel were (from left to right): Rianne Ward, Evolve Magazine; Velvet D’Amour, international plus-size model and photographer; Anna Shillinglaw, Milk Model Management; Jessica Kane, Skorch Magazine; Anna Scholz, plus-size fashion designer.

We made a beeline for front row seats this time as we’d learnt our lesson from the previous activities that we’d be unlikely to hear anything if sitting further back than the third row, but were pleasantly surprised to find that a microphone and speaker had been rigged up for this session. Sadly, however, these ended up making little difference to the sound quality and volume levels because of the echoey room, hard floor and high ceiling, and even though we were right at the front we still could not hear very clearly most of the time.

The parts of the discussion that I did manage to hear were very interesting. The discussion itself seemed to lack direction (the audience were invited to ask random questions, despite there being a clear list of topics in The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 event ‘brochure’ I had received on Friday) but this was not the fault of the guest speakers.

The panel made some valid points about plus size fashion, body image and more, and they answered as many questions as they possibly could in the very short time available. It was really good of them to put themselves forward for this activity and I know many of the women present were grateful to hear from their fashion and style icons. It’s a pity this part of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 wasn’t allocated more time.

After this activity, it was around 4:45pm and we were asked to leave the room so that it could be prepared for The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 fashion show. Again, we had nowhere else to go but to wait outside on the street. We were so thankful that it wasn’t raining!

At around 5:45pm we decided to go back inside to wait and we quickly found ourselves crammed into the main corridor with the majority of other attendees as there was nowhere for us to go. It wasn’t a pleasant experience being so cramped and unable to sit down, and I know some people felt quite ill because of the difficult conditions.

At last, we were allowed back into the main hall at around 6pm but the fashion show didn’t start until almost 7pm. The show was preceded by a councillor from Hackney council who gave a cringeworthy, patronising speech that made me feel very uncomfortable and, from what I could tell from the reactions of those around me, most people felt the same way. It was unnecessary and completely out of place at what was intended to be a body positive, empowering event.

When The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 fashion show finally started, although we were only sitting in the third row it was far enough back to ensure that we did not have much of a view at all. After such a long day already and the difficult conditions both today and yesterday I soon lost interest in craning my neck to see the clothes on display.

The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2’s event hall had a balcony so it surely would have been better if there had been perhaps just two rows of seats on the main floor and more people seated up on the balcony. Alternatively, the rearmost rows of seating could have been situated on platforms to enable an improved line of sight for those of us further not in the front row.

There were several technical hitches during The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 fashion show, including Anna Scholz’s brand name being displayed on the screen whilst another designer’s clothes were being modelled. I imagine neither party could have been very happy about that.

However, it was brilliant to be able to see the clothing in the show being modelled by plus-sized figures and it was a treat to watch such an array of garments being paraded before us. The models were beautiful and did their job perfectly. I just wish I’d had a better view!

The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 fashion show and indeed the event as a whole came to an end at around 8pm. I must admit that it came as rather a relief after a such a long and tiring day. The fact we hadn’t been able to relax anywhere all day due to the lack of any sort of socialising area had really taken its toll by this point and of course not having a proper lunch or drinks throughout the day was not good either.

Image courtesy of Fashion Mommy

I had been very much looking forward to The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 event but I can’t help but feel let down by what was delivered, not just today but across the whole weekend. We had been promised an inspirational day full of useful, uplifting activities and experiences. Instead, we were given a badly organised day that seemed to have little direction or focus and didn’t seem to pay any care whatsoever for the attendees.

I have no doubt that the organisers had put a great deal of hard work into the event, but I wonder if they were so busy trying to create the wow factor by inviting and hosting such esteemed guests that they became blinkered and ended up overlooking the quality of experience for those who had paid money to be able to come along. For any event, these are the most important people of all, as without attendees there is no event.

I feel it was unfortunate and disappointing that inappropriate wording was used on both days of the event and indeed continues to be used on the BPSFW Twitter page. Terms such as ‘real women’ are not helpful and encourage a disparity between plus-size and straight-size women. We are ALL real women, regardless of our size, and we should all stick together – there is no need to hate on one body type in order to promote or support another.

A further unfortunate term that was used a lot is ‘curvy’. You might think it ironic that I take issue with the use of this word given that this blog is, after all, called Curvy Wordy…however when I named my blog I had in mind my shape, not my size. All women are curvy, and therefore in my humble opinion it is misleading and pretty patronising to try to use this word to only describe plus-sized women. 

I understand that there may be some women who are uncomfortable with being described as ‘large’ or ‘fat’ (which are only descriptors, after all, and therefore should be no different to ‘tall’, ‘short’, ‘blonde’, or ‘brunette’, but I know the word fat in particular has become weaponised by wider society), but surely ‘plus size’ is perfectly acceptable? It turns out that even the model industry uses ‘curvy’ instead of plus size nowadays – how ridiculous!

I was also shocked to hear ‘skinny bashing’ comments from the comedian who was compèring The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 fashion show. I suppose I should have expected it given that she was hosting the show whilst wearing an ‘I don’t want to be a size zero’ t-shirt, but I still couldn’t quite believe my ears at some of the things she said.

For example, when encouraging Rianne and Remi – the two main organisers of BPSFW – to walk down the catwalk at the end of the show to receive applause, she suggested that they should pretend there was food there waiting for them so that they would be quicker. Hilarious…I think not.

Rianne – one of the founders of the event – and Gaëlle-Vanessa – who organised attendees for the press event and ran the clothes swap shop – were absolutely lovely and remained professional and delightful at all times.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for many of the other women involved in the event who were at best grumpy and at worst downright rude, whose customer service skills were severely lacking. I not only experienced this first-hand but I also saw it happen to other attendees. We were not even politely greeted on arrival, which unfortunately seemed to have set the tone for the rest of the day.

I understand that the event must have been extremely stressful and tiring for the organising team but as attendees we were their customers and some people were treated as if they were dirt on someone’s shoe. It was pretty upsetting at times. This sort of behaviour is just not good enough in any situation, but particularly when attendees have paid circa £50 for their ticket, as well as having had to shell out for travel/accommodation costs on top in order to attend The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2.

That said, I do feel very strongly that the BPSFW team should be congratulated for managing to engage some very big names from the plus size fashion industry. That can’t have been an easy feat and it was great to be able to meet some well-known faces such as Jessica Kane, Anna Scholz and Velvet D’Amour, all of whom seemed to be very happy with their involvement in the day.

It was also fantastic to have so many brands participating in the day. Premier sponsors Simply Be had their name on the main banner, a stand in the exhibition room and their clothes on the catwalk. Other brands involved with the event included Scarlett & Jo, Live Unlimited, Curvissa, Hanes Plus, Cult of California, One One 3, Swimsuits For All, Anna Scholz, GETS, M&Co, Curvezz, Lucabella, Miss Difusa, Sorrento Clothing, Dea London, Pauline et Julie, Curvy Kate, Syreeta Badu, Carolyn de la Drapière, and F&F Clothing. 

I very much enjoyed the opportunity that The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 (and Day 1!) gave me to meet old blogger friends and make new ones, too. It’s always great to network with other bloggers and we don’t often get the chance to do this so I always try to make the most of such instances. However I do I think that name badges for all attendees – bloggers, brands, event organisers, the press and the public alike – would have been really useful in helping more connections to take place. 

I have no doubt that the BPSFW 2013 created a lot of press and got plenty of people talking…but I am not sure it was always for the right reasons. I don’t believe the event lived up to its mission statement and if I had paid for my ticket I think I would be seriously questioning the level of value for money I had received. I was looking forward to this event so much but by the end of the day I just felt very sad and let down (not to mention dehydrated and in need of proper food!).

I also can’t help but wonder where the vast majority of money generated by the event was spent, especially as previous plus size events such as Plus North and Plus London have produced some magnificent results on very meagre budgets.

Hats off to the ladies involved in these two events as they surely know how to pull strings and make things happen at an incredibly reasonable cost, and clearly without thought to line their own pockets. In fact, a ticket for The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 cost almost TEN TIMES the price of a ticket to Plus North last year. That’s pretty shocking.

On Friday, as part of our ‘goodie bag’ (if you can call a bag of brochures, leaflets and business cards and a tube of hand cream a ‘goodie’ bag!) we were provided with a ‘programme’ for the event. I didn’t bring mine with me on Saturday as I fully expected to be given one on arrival but this was not the case. My mistake.

For those of you who didn’t receive one of these booklets, there is no need to worry as you didn’t miss out on much. This booklet had clearly been viewed as yet another money-making opportunity and it comprised mostly brand adverts, with an ‘uplifting’ statement or interview thrown in haphazardly here and there for luck.

The brochure was very poorly edited and laid out, with spelling, grammar and punctuation errors aplenty. Several of the adverts were blurry due to not being sufficiently high resolution and there were inconsistencies with the general presentation. It did not have a professional look or feel about it at all and certainly didn’t reflect the high-end event we had all been expecting.

At the time of this post being published, it’s just a few days after the event and only a few bloggers have posted about it. I can’t help but feel that some attendees may be afraid of saying anything but positive things about what happened for fear of reprisal or being ostracised.

Personally, although I wish I didn’t have to write a review that’s not entirely positive, I am not afraid to share my experience as I know this is all factual and that my feedback is coming from a good place. I seek to report accurately on the events of The Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 Day 2 in the hope that lessons can be learned for next time. As this week progresses, I really hope more and more attendees speak out openly about their experiences of the weekend, too.

The team behind BPSFW have already said that they will run the event next year and learn from this year’s mistakes. I therefore hope that this post is taken in the spirit that it was written – to identify some of the problems from the weekend in the hope that these instances can be avoided in the future. I have no personal problem with anyone from the BPSFW team and am simply keen to see the delivery of high quality, professionally-run events that the plus-size community deserves.

BPSFW: thank you for your hard work in making last weekend happen. I genuinely hope the BPSFW runs again in the future and that some deep dives are done to learn lessons from this year so that improvements are made for next time. Also I am sure that new ideas as to how to make the event more successful – and undoubtedly sustainable – in the future will emerge.

Thank you again to F&F Clothing for sending me to the BPSFW 2013 and I look forward to working with you again soon.