I have always lived in a bigger body myself, with my size fluctuating between a 14 and 24 for most of my adult life and have shied away from cold-shoulder tops and bedazzled Eiffel Towers on balloon-hemmed T-shirts. Yet these historically have often been the default options for women like me.

And it’s not as if there isn’t a demand for plus-size fashion. The industry is reportedly worth $288 billion globally. Yes, that’s billion with a “B.”

When I decided to found my own fashion brand, I was at a point of sheer frustration. Despite the flourishing body positivity movement and the increasing visibility of plus-size models and influencers, I felt as though the fashion industry wasn’t keeping up. It was as if the “plus-size” label was a fleeting trend rather than a genuine shift towards inclusivity.

For me, it wasn’t about fast fashion; it was about style. Like many, I was fed up with just more fabric being added to an item of clothing designed with a straight-sized body in mind. I wanted to design clothes to fit bodies that are bigger than a size 16 and to take into consideration body shapes, boobs, hip dips, lower tummy pouches, and broader shoulders – things that many brands overlook when creating plus-size clothing.

Ozempic or not, these people aren’t going away, and never will. And why should they? Believe it or not, many of us curvier women are happy in our bodies, and don’t want to use weight loss drugs to achieve some societally ‘ideal’ size. The potential sudden drop in access to great, plus-size clothing (and the right investment in it) signals to women like me that we’re now expected to be smaller.

While it might seem like a win for independent brands like mine when major competitors drop out of the race for the ‘plus-size pound,’ the reality is, the majority of women rely on these major retailers and the economies of scale they leverage to access more affordable wardrobe staples.

Creating Rune and becoming a voice for plus-sized women has coincided with a stabilisation of both my weight and my self-acceptance. While I am happy for those who are finding success with weight loss drugs, I’m content to live without them. Let’s see if the fashion world can say the same.

“I own a plus-sized fashion brand, and I’m terrified Ozempic will kill our industry”