2026 Will Be The Year Diverse Talent Becomes “Fashionable”

“We need full-glamour c*nt,” says stylist Kat Typaldos. She talks about the idea of ​​how her client, comedian and actress Megan Stalter, intends to look on the red carpet—and the difficulty of doing it when their choice of designers is decided. un– c*nt. “It’s so hard to find fancy clothes for people who aren’t sample sizes. And if designers give me a piece that fits…” she pauses, “I mean, do you want to see a muumau on the red carpet? I’m not going to tell someone they have to wear something because it’s Valentino.”

Typaldos and Stalter embody a new era of fashionistas; their foul-mouthed gang is totally connected to celebrities who are the perfect size of the body image of yesteryears. In case you need reminding, the most recent wave of size diversity (ie, 2014 to 2019) was the result of knocking on the doors of the fashion industry with polite requests to enter. A select few were allowed—Adele, Ashley Graham, Danielle Brooks, et al—but despite their game-changing talent and media-savvy habits, we were seeing them shoved into tired lines of designer wear, from the aforementioned muumuu to lazy body wear. “Fashion was exhausting,” said Kelly Augustine, who has worked with Brooks as well as Gabourey Sidibe and Michelle Buteau. “Basic, uninspired designs satisfied us, but the industry had no intention of maintaining a long-term commitment to this community.”

In 2020, those conditional size placements began to disappear. Brands are struggling to keep business afloat as customers stop shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, higher and unprecedented prices made that even more difficult, and extended sizes were the first steps out of budget brands. Also, the standard of beauty has returned to size zero thanks to the Ozempification of Hollywood. Fashion as an essence also changed. We had colorful optimism as a response to the collective stress of the epidemic, then the “clean girl” and “quiet luxury” while the cultural pendulum swung from centering black lives to, disappointingly, re-centering whiteness. Recently, Charli XCX’s representation of the “brat” style has surfaced, arguably as a response to the jeopardy of women’s reproductive rights that we see being played out in the political arena.

As such, fashion’s new It girls—Julia Fox, Paloma Elsesser, Alex Consani, and company—are XCX-level rebels, and they behave in a cool, cool way. Their styles take on the campy taste of drag queens, the textured grunge of rock stars, and other subcultures. Inconsistency with it in the middle and—here’s my thesis—that applies to body size, too. The next step? Celebrating the “imperfect” body in a mysterious way. The resurgence of size diversity is coming, and it’s going to look different this time: No more Mrs. Nice Size 16. Politically naive, single, fully grown women like Yseult, Trisha Paytas, Shygirl, and Stalter will be the moment.

You may already have one of Stalter’s looks pinned to your mood board: the corset made from Diet Coke boxes, the dress and the hair rollers she wore. Today show, or jeans, a tee, and a bag with “CEASE FIRE!” written on the other side of it. To bring this look to life, Typaldos skips fashion houses and sources from long-term showrooms like TAB and Berriez, emerging and inclusive designers like Ester Manas and Karoline Vitto, or has handmade pieces. (Fun fact: Stalter made her own Diet Coke corset.) The stylist uses platforms like Last Look to find partners like tailors, clothing designers, bag makers, hand painters, 3D printers, etc. It’s not easy. In fact, he jokes that “Frankensteins” look together. His latest creations: the perfect replicas of Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s orange Marty Supreme first Chrome Hearts’ fit, worn by Stalter as well Hacks star Paul Downs at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.

Vogue, Vanity Fair, again It’s a luxury have noticed “in-the-joke fashion sense,” as Vogue put. But Typaldos says that’s not their MO. “Our successful way of working is to continue to do our own thing,” he said. “If you build, they will come. I think if I work the other way around, I’ll be more upset with the system.” I think he misses unanswered emails from the world’s biggest brands. “It sounds difficult and maybe impossible. And maybe that’s the truth; maybe that’s the sad truth.”

Typaldos’ behavior is controversial, but don’t mistake that for a lack of faith in him or his client. He doesn’t care about 2010’s ratings of “doing it” in fashion; rather, their effort is recognized through virality. I, for one, am impressed. I can’t overstate how much power lies in delegitimizing this ancient industry and, correspondingly, how smart that strategy is. Do you think Netflix chooses its actors to sit in front of Michael Kors or on the For You page, I ask him. “That’s a fair question,” Typaldos said. “We never had a conversation like, ‘What are our product goals?’ ‘Is it a goal to dress up and go to fashion week?’ Because there was nothing about that.” They clearly use fashion, as intended, to enhance their creativity. “Meg uses clothes and glam to open up a person.”