Designers do need to include curvy women in their design thinking. And working on ordinary bodies instead of tailors’ dummies or a model who is paid to mimic a tailors’ dummy in size is not a rounded training say we at All Walks!

Yesterday after months of hard work to create Britain’s first Centre of Diversity,  Govt Minister Lynne Featherstone was our guest at Graduate Fashion Week  to endorse the work of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk and celebrate our achievement. In the picture with her and myself above, is Mal Burkinshaw Director of the Centre and course leader at Edinburgh College of Art.

It was he who coined the term ‘emotionally considerate design and messaging’. In non academic terms that means learning to design for ordinary women of different sizes, ethnicities and ages by using models who represent a wider range of beauty.

Some our All Walks models turned up to help celebrate the moment wearing clothes especially designed by students at Edinburgh College of Art, it was great so see such body diversity, we were only sad that Valerie and Daphne our stunning 60 and 80 year old models were unable to join us!

Here they are below in all their glory in our ‘All Women,’ shot by Rankin for All Walks Beyond the Catwalk

Credits: Small pic above features co founder of All Walks Debra Bourne, Lynne and I, with one of the dummies donated by Tanya Reynolds of Proportion London which cover different sizes up to UK 18 so that students can train on varied sizes. With thanks to Annabel Staff for her photography.