Plus-Size Male Models Fill Increasing Gap In Fashion Industry Niche

At 6ft tall with a 49in chest and 44in waist, Raul Samuel had always struggled to find stylish clothes that fitted him. In May 2017, he was looking online to try to find someone who looked like him and “wore clothes well”, so he could find out where they shopped. “I couldn’t find anyone, so I Googled ‘plus-size’ males and came across an article about an agency looking for models,” he said. Samuels went for a meeting at Bridge – which describes itself as a “curve” agency – and within two weeks he was featured in an advertising campaign for the brand BoohooMAN. “It just took off,” he said. “My face was all over the [London] Underground.” Samuels, 27, is just one of an increasing number of men who don’t have chiseled abs and a six-pack to find themselves in demand by fashion brands wanting a share of the growing plus-size men’s market. Modeling agencies are reporting a rise in interest in bigger male models, as more brands, from Asos and Boohoo to River Island have started to cater to men in larger sizes. Read more at The Guardian.