'I haven't finished losing weight yet' — plus sizes vanish from fashion as GLP-1 drugs reshape demand

Was the body-positivity movement and its push for size inclusivity only ever a passing trend?

The share of plus-size clothing — XXL, 3XL and larger — is shrinking across the fashion industry. Brands say demand has fallen as more consumers lose weight on obesity drugs. But critics point to rising plus-size sales in the secondhand market as evidence that apparel companies are pulling the category because of a negative perception of larger sizes, not a lack of buyers.

According to research firm Edited, the share of newly listed XL women's dresses on H&M's website from January through May this year fell 2 percentage points compared with the same period last year. The share of XXL items dropped 3 percentage points.

As recently as last year, 3XL and 4XL items accounted for 2 percent of new inventory. This year, those sizes have disappeared entirely from H&M's women's dress offerings. Meanwhile, the share of smaller sizes — XS through L — rose an average of 3 percentage points.

The trend extends beyond H&M. At Mango, the share of newly stocked dresses in plus sizes 16 through 20 fell from 6.6 percent last year to just 0.5 percent this year. At Anthropologie, plus-size dresses fell from 10.5 percent of the dress assortment last year to 9 percent this year.

The fashion industry attributes the shift to the growing use of GLP-1 obesity drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, saying more consumers have shed weight and no longer need larger sizes. H&M told the British daily The Guardian that after continuously monitoring fit and size demand, it "identified lower demand for these sizes" and decided to discontinue 3XL and 4XL.

The spread of GLP-1 drugs does appear to be reshaping body sizes in measurable ways. According to Gallup, the adult obesity rate in the United States — which had climbed for decades — peaked at 39.9 percent in 2022 and has since fallen to 36.4 percent this year.

Research firm Impact Analytics found that sales of smaller clothing sizes rose for two consecutive years, while sales of larger sizes edged down. Last year, XS-size apparel sales grew 0.43 percent from the prior year, while M-size sales fell 0.02 percent and L-size sales dropped 0.3 percent over the same period. Sizes XL and above declined 0.39 percent.

Yet some observers argue the contraction of the plus-size market is not simply a matter of falling demand. They say fashion companies are refusing to maintain plus-size lines in order to cultivate a sleek brand image associated with celebrities and cultural cachet.

A widely held assumption in the fashion industry is that economic status and body mass index are inversely correlated — in other words, wealthier people tend to have lower rates of obesity. Acting on that belief, brands have concluded that being seen as a label without plus-size offerings helps attract affluent, trend-conscious consumers.

Even in the age of GLP-1 drugs, most Americans still wear plus sizes — a fact that lends weight to that criticism. A survey by Plunkett Research last year found that 66 percent of American women still wear a size 14 or larger, which is classified as plus size. Kristin Brophy, senior vice president of marketing at online resale platform ThredUp, said demand for larger sizes "is not going away and is one of the fastest-growing segments of the market we serve." She added that the company hears frequently from customers that they are being "pushed" to secondhand stores because brands never stocked plus-size items in the first place.

The secondhand market data backs up Brophy's account. So far this year, purchases of women's clothing in size L and above on ThredUp have risen 17.4 percent compared with last year — more than double the 6.8 percent growth rate recorded for S and M sizes over the same period.