The most revealing curve-model watchlist from Fashion Week in 2021 starts with Paloma Elsesser, Precious Lee, Jill Kortleve, Alva Claire, Ashley Graham, and Candice Huffine. Together, they show what changed during the Spring/Summer 2021 season—and how quickly the progress thinned out by Fall/Winter 2021.
The most revealing curve-model watchlist from Fashion Week in 2021 starts with Paloma Elsesser, Precious Lee, Jill Kortleve, Alva Claire, Ashley Graham, and Candice Huffine. Together, they show what changed during the Spring/Summer 2021 season—and how quickly the progress thinned out by Fall/Winter 2021.
This is a historical watchlist, not an objective ranking. “Best to follow” means the models whose runway work, editorial visibility, advocacy, or business leadership best explains the body-diversity conversation around fashion week in 2021. The season produced genuine breakthroughs, especially in Milan, but it did not establish consistent plus-size representation across fashion month.
Why Fashion Week 2021 mattered—and why the progress was incomplete
The Spring/Summer 2021 shows were heavily shaped by the pandemic. The season was smaller and more fragmented than a typical fashion month, but it still generated several highly visible milestones. Paloma Elsesser walked Fendi and Ferragamo, while Precious Lee and Alva Claire joined her on significant Milan runways. Vogue presented Elsesser, Lee, and Claire as evidence of a new high-fashion space opening for curve models.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →#1 Best Overall
Versace’s Spring/Summer 2021 runway was especially important: Elsesser, Lee, Jill Kortleve, and Claire were part of a group that made the casting feel like more than a single-token appearance. Teen Vogue also reported Elsesser’s return to Fendi and her Ferragamo appearance, which she described as the brand’s first use of a curve model.
But Fall/Winter 2021 offered a necessary reality check. L’Officiel described the season’s plus-size representation as sharply reduced after the attention-grabbing Spring/Summer cycle. Lee appeared at Moschino, and Kortleve was seen at Chanel, but the overall number of curve models remained very small. The lesson is not that the breakthroughs were insignificant; it is that a handful of milestone bookings did not amount to a stable industry-wide shift.
1. Paloma Elsesser: the clearest high-fashion breakthrough
Paloma Elsesser was the essential name to follow in 2021 because her importance went beyond simply appearing on a luxury runway. Vogue described her as helping create a category that had not previously existed for a model combining curve, charisma, and high-fashion positioning. That framing captures why her Milan appearances felt so consequential: she was not being presented only as a body-positive exception, but as a fashion professional with a distinct presence and point of view.
Elsesser made her Milan Fashion Week runway debut for Fendi’s Spring/Summer 2021 show, according to RUSSH. She also walked Ferragamo during the same season, and her subsequent runway work included Alexander McQueen and Lanvin. Vogue’s coverage placed her alongside Precious Lee and Alva Claire as one of the most visible curve-model presences on Milan’s catwalks.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Elsesser is therefore the best starting point for understanding the season’s tension. Her bookings demonstrated that a model outside the traditional sample-size range could occupy a marquee luxury runway without being reduced to a novelty. At the same time, the fact that her presence was treated as a new category showed how unusual that access still was.
2. Precious Lee: runway visibility, editorial power, and racial representation
Precious Lee was one of the defining faces of Milan Fashion Week in 2021. Vogue Italia singled out Lee and Elsesser as two of the curvy models who made the strongest impression on the season, citing Lee’s appearances at Versace, Marni, and the Fendace event.
Lee’s significance was not limited to the runway. Vogue’s September 2021 cover story placed her among a diverse group of models and described her as one of the few plus-size Black women to appear on the cover of American Vogue. That combination of luxury-show visibility and major editorial work made her an important figure in conversations about both size and racial representation.
It is more accurate to describe Lee as a charismatic, established fashion professional than to treat her as a generic body-positive symbol. Her campaigns, magazine work, and runway appearances gave the 2021 conversation a wider context: representation matters not only because a model is visible, but because she is allowed to participate fully in the fashion system.
3. Jill Kortleve: proof that “curve” is not one uniform body type
Jill Kortleve represented the expansion of curve casting into legacy luxury houses. RUSSH described her as the second curve model to walk for Chanel and traced her runway debut to Alexander McQueen’s Fall/Winter 2019/20 show. She returned to Fendi for Spring/Summer 2021, and L’Officiel identified her at Chanel during Fall/Winter 2021.
Kortleve is also useful for challenging the idea that there is one fixed “curve” body. In a later British Vogue interview, she discussed occupying an in-between range. That context matters because a casting milestone can still leave many body types unrepresented. One model’s booking does not prove that an entire size spectrum has become welcome.
Following Kortleve in the context of 2021 means watching how a legacy house moves from an isolated casting decision toward a broader understanding of size diversity. Her Chanel and Fendi appearances were meaningful, but the sparse Fall/Winter season showed why repeated and varied casting mattered more than a single headline booking.
4. Alva Claire: a rising name in a collective breakthrough
Alva Claire was one of the three curve models—alongside Precious Lee and Jill Kortleve—whose appearance on Versace’s Spring/Summer 2021 runway became a milestone. Her inclusion helped make the show a collective breakthrough rather than a story about one exceptional booking.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesClaire was also associated with Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty shows, which had already helped broaden the visual language of fashion presentation. That work placed her in a different but equally important part of the industry: a space where casting, performance, lingerie, and body diversity were designed to be central rather than peripheral.
Claire is best understood as a rising name to follow rather than as an established equivalent to Graham or Elsesser. Her own comments, reported by RUSSH, emphasized the collective nature of the Versace moment and the fact that one-off inclusion would not be enough. That is the right lens for her 2021 runway story.
5. Ashley Graham: the established mainstream pioneer
Ashley Graham was the most established mainstream name on this list. RUSSH identified her as a prominent pioneer of body diversity and a fashion-week runway participant, while Teen Vogue reported that she joined Elsesser and Kortleve at Fendi during the Spring/Summer 2021 season.
Rank #4
Graham’s broader cultural visibility also predates the 2021 runway cycle. She became the first size-16 model to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2016, a milestone that helped move discussions of model size beyond specialist fashion coverage and into mainstream media.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Her role in the 2021 story is that of a bridge: she connects high-profile runway work with commercial visibility and public conversations about confidence and body image. That history should not be mistaken for proof that the industry had solved representation. A pioneering individual can make access more imaginable without making that access routine for everyone else.
6. Candice Huffine: inclusion as business infrastructure
Candice Huffine broadens the story beyond who appeared in a particular runway lineup. RUSSH records that she began modeling professionally in 2000 and built a substantial editorial career before founding the inclusive activewear label DAY/WON in 2017.
DAY/WON’s company information described the brand as size-inclusive from 0 through 32 and identified Huffine as its founder and CEO. That makes Huffine relevant not only as a veteran curve model, but also as someone working on the infrastructure around body inclusion: product development, sizing, and the business decisions that determine whether customers can actually participate in fashion and fitness.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThere is an important availability qualification for readers today. DAY/WON’s current homepage displays a “So long…for now” message, so it should be treated as a historical brand connection rather than a current shopping recommendation unless its storefront and ordering status are confirmed before publication.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.More models worth following around the 2021 conversation
The following names appeared in RUSSH’s March 29, 2021 watchlist and are important to the broader discussion. They should not be presented as equivalent 2021 luxury-runway performers: their influence often came through advocacy, campaigns, social media, entrepreneurship, or media.
| Model | Why she belongs on the follow list | What not to imply |
|---|---|---|
| Tess Holliday | Known for the #EffYourBeautyStandard campaign and for writing about fat acceptance and self-image. | Her importance to the 2021 conversation was primarily advocacy and publishing, not documented equivalence with the major Milan runway breakthroughs. |
| Iskra Lawrence | Used social media to communicate about body diversity and challenge narrow beauty standards. | Do not turn social-media influence into an unsupported claim about specific 2021 fashion-week bookings. |
| Kate Wasley | Associated with the Any.Body.Co project and body-acceptance advocacy. | Her inclusion here reflects cultural and advocacy work rather than the central Milan runway evidence. |
| Bree McCann | Connected to ASOS Curve work and her Code B swimwear label. | Brand work should not be described as proof of broad luxury-runway representation. |
| Georgia Pratt | Noted for becoming the first curve model to walk in a Christian Siriano show. | A milestone with one designer is not the same as consistent representation across fashion month. |
| Robyn Lawley | A long-running advocate who also hosted the Every Body podcast about body diversity and representation. | The podcast is an audio-media recommendation, not evidence of a specific 2021 runway appearance. |
Holliday’s book, The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl: Loving the Skin You’re In, is a natural optional read for anyone interested in the advocacy side of this list. It complements—rather than replaces—the runway-focused stories of Elsesser, Lee, Kortleve, and Claire.
For an audio follow-up, Every Body with Robyn Lawley is an Audible original podcast presented as a seven-episode discussion of body diversity, representation, disability, illness, race, age, and beauty standards. It extends the subject beyond clothing sizes and runway casting.
What the 2021 watchlist actually tells us
Breakthroughs were concentrated
The strongest evidence came from a small cluster of models, particularly Elsesser, Lee, Kortleve, and Claire. Their appearances at Fendi, Ferragamo, Versace, Marni, Fendace, and Chanel were meaningful precisely because they were still unusual. A breakthrough concentrated among a few highly visible models is not the same as an industry-wide change.
Runway representation and body representation are related but not identical
Fashion can make a visible casting change while still representing only a narrow slice of bodies outside the traditional sample-size range. Kortleve’s comments about occupying an in-between range are a useful reminder that “curve” covers a range of experiences and proportions. A more inclusive runway needs multiple models, repeated bookings, and a wider range of sizes—not simply one celebrated exception.
Visibility needs follow-through
The contrast between Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 2021 is the most important fact in the story. The spring season generated historic images and headlines; the autumn season showed how quickly representation could recede. The meaningful question was not only whether a model could get one luxury booking, but whether designers, casting directors, and brands would continue to hire different bodies after the publicity had passed.
Inclusion also happens outside the runway
Huffine’s DAY/WON, Holliday’s advocacy, Wasley’s Any.Body.Co project, McCann’s Code B, and Lawley’s podcast show why a fashion-week watchlist should not be limited to catwalk appearances. Models can influence the industry by building brands, creating media, changing campaigns, and making audiences question who fashion is designed to serve.
How to use this list as a 2021 fashion-history guide
- Start with Elsesser and Lee for the clearest picture of Milan’s Spring/Summer 2021 breakthrough.
- Add Kortleve and Claire to understand luxury-house casting and the importance of collective visibility.
- Look to Graham for the connection between runway access, mainstream media, and body-confidence advocacy.
- Follow Huffine’s career to see how representation can become a product and business question, not just a casting question.
- Use the broader list for context, keeping advocacy, editorial work, entrepreneurship, and audio media distinct from documented fashion-week appearances.
- Measure progress by consistency: repeated bookings, multiple body types, and representation across seasons are stronger evidence than a single historic show.
The best way to remember Fashion Week 2021 is therefore neither as a complete victory nor as an empty publicity moment. It was a season when Elsesser, Lee, Kortleve, Claire, and others made luxury fashion’s size boundaries visibly less fixed—followed by a Fall/Winter season that demonstrated how fragile that opening still was.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Follow Paloma Elsesser, Precious Lee, Jill Kortleve, and Alva Claire for the defining Spring/Summer 2021 runway story; follow Ashley Graham and Candice Huffine for the longer history, advocacy, and business of inclusion. The season’s breakthroughs were real, but the weak Fall/Winter follow-through shows that visibility had not yet become consistency.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
