Every night at 11:30 p.m., Douyin’s plus-size Hanfu anchor Jia Yinuo starts live broadcast on time. While showing off the texture of a piece of clothing, she lifted up her clothes and inadvertently exposed the fat on her belly. This scene may be embarrassing in the eyes of some people, but in the plus-size Hanfu live broadcast room, it has become a unique sense of intimacy, making consumers in the live broadcast room feel familiar and at ease.
In recent years, the statement “Hanfu is getting smaller and smaller” has sparked discussions on social media, and anti-body anxiety has gradually become the focus of public attention. Many netizens have said that the S size that once fit has become tight, and fat girls who originally need L size are often faced with the dilemma of having no choice.
Although some merchants blindly pursue "small sizes" and ignore the diversity of women's bodies, there are also other merchants who silently defend the dignity of L size. They are merchants focusing on large-size Hanfu. In the bustling and noisy Hanfu market, their voices may seem weak, but their existence provides a space of choice full of freedom and dignity for those ignored "plus-size women".
"I failed to lose weight, but I am very happy"
Jia Yinuo clearly remembers the scene when he failed to apply for a Hanfu store clerk.
At that time, Jia Yinuo had just graduated from college. She loved dressing up and decided to work as a Hanfu shop assistant. She was 1.6 meters tall and weighed 130 pounds at the time. However, there were very few plus-size Hanfu brands on the market, so she had no choice but to apply for a job at a mainstream Hanfu brand. Although she knew she was a little fat, she still believed that being employed as a clothing store clerk would be a no-brainer for her with beautiful features. "I was full of confidence, put on beautiful makeup, and carefully matched my clothes for the interview."
Reality soon gave her the first blow. After the interview, the interviewer smiled and said to Jia Yinuo, "Your figure may not be suitable." Jia Yinuo was very surprised. She had never been affected by her figure since she was a child. She began to doubt herself, "Am I overconfident? I seem to be too fat."
Affected by this attack, Jia Yinuo hated his body weight and was determined to lose weight. She mainly eats tomatoes and cucumbers for three meals, and does aerobic and anaerobic exercise for two hours a day; as a northerner, steamed buns areJia Yinuo's favorite staple food since childhood, but in order to reduce her carbohydrate intake, she only eats a small bite of steamed buns every day, and does not even touch meat or oil. This extreme weight loss quickly produced results: within a month, Jia Yinuo's weight dropped from 130 kilograms to 97 kilograms.
However, after losing weight, Jia Yinuo was not happy. She is prone to obesity and has to eat very little to maintain her weight after losing weight. Therefore, her weight loss only lasted less than half a year. "Suddenly one day, I thought about it. I no longer want to blindly cater to the mainstream aesthetics. The happiness and sunshine that girls radiate from their hearts are the real beauty. It does not mean that only thin people can be beautiful." Jia Yinuo said with emotion. After that, she stopped controlling her diet and her weight quickly returned to more than 140 pounds.
At the same time, Jia Yinuo noticed that there are more and more plus-size Hanfu brands on e-commerce platforms, and the suitable people have expanded from 120 pounds to 200 pounds. "After the rise of plus-size Hanfu on Douyin and other e-commerce platforms, I was thinking, why don't I become a sales anchor for plus-size Hanfu? I am a senior fat girl, and I can also be considered a senior costumer. Online shoppers are fully qualified for this job.”
Jia Yinuo met Weiyue Clothing, a leading plus-size Hanfu merchant on the Douyin platform, and she quickly created the account “Jia Jie Plus Size Supply.” Chain" has become the anchor of Weiyue Clothing. One of her most important tasks every day is to try on sample clothes, and together with the staff of Weiyue Clothing, she selects the right fit among the many large-size Hanfu styles. Tang Chengjia, founder of Weiyue Clothing, said: "The style of large-size Hanfu is very important. It must be slim, loose and comfortable, because it is very uncomfortable for fat girls to wear clothes and be strangled on their backs. After determining the style, we We will try our best to keep the prices of styles down to provide consumers with better value for money.”
“Fat girls can’t only wear black.”
Like Tang Chengjia, so does Zhuo Qingqing. A pioneer in the field of plus size Hanfu. When Zhuo Qingqing founded the plus-size Hanfu brand Yunfeixiu, there were very few plus-size Hanfu brands on the market. On the one hand, plus-size bodies are more diverse, and people with fat thighs, fat bellies, and fat shoulders have different dressing needs. In terms of styles and fabrics, plus-size clothing costs more; on the other hand, some brands even think that ,Large sizeClothing can "smear" the brand image, and plus-size clothing is often treated as ancillary business.
This has resulted in many fat women not daring to pursue a variety of clothing styles. "In the early days of the brand's establishment, our styles were almost all black at first glance, because most consumers believed that black would make them look slimmer," Zhuo Qingqing said. This psychological constraint makes overweight women shy away from wearing clothes of other colors, and black has become their safe zone. "My fans almost never ask about the style details of this dress, they only ask: 'Can I wear this dress?'"
How to make plus-size women dare to step out of the safe zone of black clothes? First of all, we need to solve the problem of the pattern of large-size Hanfu. Unlike conventional Hanfu, which is designed in sizes ranging from XS to L and XL, large-size Hanfu comes in sizes of 2XL, 3XL, 4XL and even 5XL. "Plus-size Hanfu is not simply an enlargement of ordinary clothes." Zhuo Qingqing said, "For example, a M-size white long-sleeved top looks ordinary to thin people, but in the eyes of fat people, it The white sleeves cover the body, the bust covers the body, and the hem also covers the body. This style must look fatter.”
Therefore, Zhuo Qingqing’s design team began to optimize the style and make it. Dimensions such as shoulder width, sleeve circumference and hem are suitable for fat girls. We also ask plus-size models with apple-shaped, pear-shaped and other body types to try them on. "Fans will tell me what issues they are concerned about, such as the size of the collar or the degree of perspective. Based on this feedback, we will make subtle optimizations in the design to make each garment as suitable as possible for plus-size girls."
As time goes by and the repurchase rate increases, fans begin to have higher requirements for the styles of large-size Hanfu. Although black clothes do make people look slimmer, fans are tired of the monotony of wearing black every day. Therefore, Zhuo Qingqing began to work on colors and clothing styles, encouraging them to try boldly. "I want my fans to know that you can not only wear black, but also experiment with colors."
"It seems like I have discovered a new world"
Different from ordinary Hanfu , consumers of plus-size Hanfu have been ignored by fashion for a long time. When shopping, this special group of consumers not only need recommendations from anchors, but also empathy and understanding.
Jia Yinuo often receives private messages from fans. They say that they only wear black sweatpants, T-shirts, jeans, and even don’t dare to wear skirts; some fans even revealed that they have lost weight for seven years because of their figure. I don’t dare to take pictures.
"Many fat girls really don't want to lose weight. They are born with a body that is prone to obesity. There are also some fat girls who are prone to hypoglycemia and cannot lose weight." Jia Yinuo said, "We all hope to be like Jia Ling Similarly, people have time and money to hire nutritionists and coaches, but most ordinary people do not have this condition."
In order to resonate with consumers, Jia Yinuo and Zhuo Qingqing often appear in the live broadcast room. He showed off his fat without any hesitation. "My hips are wide and my butt is big, even if it's fat, I have to show these to my fans." Jia Yinuo said that she hopes that by showing fans her true figure, she can make them understand that even under the mainstream aesthetic standards, Even if you are overweight, you can be confident and beautiful.
The most rewarding moment for anchors is the confidence that plus-size Hanfu brings to their fans. Zhuo Qingqing once received free-range eggs from fans to express their gratitude, and fans also gave her an embroidery that took a year to make. "Those girls who once closed themselves off because of self-denial and did not dare to try various styles are now showing themselves in a completely new way. It seems that they have discovered a new world!"
Article | Reporter Tan Jiewen
Picture | Provided by interviewees
