Interlacing

plus size fashion and comsuption biopolitics for the fat body

Abstract

The first two decades of the 21st century are a fertile time to reflect on the diversity of body representations and aesthetics in the context of media communication for plus size brands, whether global or local. In this article, we approach the intertwining of fashion with biopolitics, aiming to problematize how plus size fashion brands, when making the fat body visible, show the constitution of biopolitics that are related to the logic of the market – what we call consumption biopolitics. To this end, we selected the communication of two plus size brands, Savage X Fenty and Rainha Nagô, aiming to identify characteristics of contemporary consumption biopolitics in different brand contexts. To theoretically base our reflections, we mobilize authors who are dedicated to the studies of Consumption, Communication, Fashion and Biopolitics. As for the results achieved, the consumption biopolitics are manifested in the plus size fashion between the control and the empowerment.