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Erik Yvon

Size Inclusivity Wasn’t Always a Part of My Label, but Now It’s Essential

Article author Erik Yvon
Erik Yvon is the founder and designer of his eponymous Melbourne fashion label.

Photo: Courtesy of Erik Yvon/Lexi Laphor

Erik Yvon’s eponymous Melbourne-based label has built a community of dopamine-seeking, mundanity-rejecting folks. While he’s widely recognised for his commitment to diversity, he admits size inclusivity wasn’t always at the forefront of his mind.

I always knew I wanted to do something creative. From my early days in Mauritius, I was always playing with fashion and clothes. It was a way for me to explore and express myself, even though it was quite restrictive there; homosexuality was only decriminalised at the end of 2023.

I moved to Australia when I was 22 years old. Coming here was liberating. Seeing people dress and express themselves, especially at the clubs, was eye-opening. That’s when I knew I wanted to express my creativity through fashion. Now I’m in my seventh year of running my eponymous label Erik Yvon.

In the beginning, it was really hard. I didn’t know what I was doing, to be honest. After completing a bachelor of fashion design at RMIT, I kept sewing in my garage, trying to pull together collections.

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It took me a very long time to find my voice as a designer. But from the start, I knew I wanted to showcase racial diversity. It’s something that I naturally grew up with in Mauritius; we’re a really multicultural country where celebrating each other’s cultures is the norm. That was something I thought was lacking in Australia.

While I focused my label on championing racial diversity, I failed to pay attention to size diversity. Honestly, it was something I had to commit to learning more about after leaving fashion school, as I didn’t feel comfortable with the level of knowledge I had at the time. After my label had been around for a few years, I had more people saying, “Hey, I really love what you’re doing but it’s not really working – there are no sizes for me.”

When I heard this, I felt like I did when I was first starting out in the fashion industry. I felt like there was a lack of space for me and that I wasn’t being recognised for who I was because of how people saw me. That’s how I related to my plus-sized customers.

The biggest turning point for me was holding my first solo runway at Australian Fashion Week in 2022. It was the best platform I could’ve hoped for to showcase more body diversity. It was something I had been working on for a while, and I was ready for it.

Extending your size range isn’t as simple as making your standard garments bigger. Considering pattern-making lines, body shapes, materials and silhouettes for a variety of sizes is so important – it’s now always part of my design process.

Time and time again, I’ve heard brands use the excuse that it’s too costly to implement more sizes. From my experience, that’s not true. But there are restrictions when it comes to working with manufacturers – as a small business, I might only be doing 50 units of an item, so a lot of manufacturers are less willing to spread that production across, say, seven sizes (XS to 3XL). It’s just a matter of finding the right manufacturer or manufacturing in-house. 

I think bigger, more established brands, which have a lot more resources, should be doing more to be more inclusive. I don’t think it’s that hard. It’s definitely something they can cater for. Locally, there are so many independent brands doing this well. Karlaidlaw, Collective Closets, Dyspnea, Youkhana and Nicol & Ford prove that the size of a business doesn’t dictate how inclusive it can be – whether that be about size or race.

For certain pieces, we offer custom sizing. I love it when people come into the studio, get measured and receive any alterations where needed. I feel really proud when I see different bodies coming into the shop. Seeing curvier bodies be able to try on pieces and feel sexy and feel themselves is a special experience. I don’t take for granted the ability to empower someone through clothing.

The world of my label comes to life on runways. I’ve worked closely with designer and illustrator Fozia Akalo and stylist Karinda Mutabazi for my shows, and I’ve enlisted queer creatives Jack Huang and Basjia Almaan to cast models within the queer community. Fashion can be seen as a really competitive space, but I’ve experienced first-hand how collaborative and generous it can be.

Traditionally, you see these beautiful, straight-sized models walking down the runway, but they don’t necessarily represent real people, real bodies. So, for me, it was important to represent my community on the runway.

Mauritius is such a small little dot, there are about 1.2 million of us, and we had no other choice than to get along with each other. My grandfather was Indian, my grandma was African, and at school, I was exposed to so many cultures. That’s what I want to bring to my runways, my art, my community. I want everyone – whatever size, skin colour, sexuality, gender or background – to be able to experience that kind of joy.

Broadsheet publishes a range of opinion stories from independent contributors. The ideas and views expressed in these pieces don’t reflect those of Broadsheet or its staff.

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