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A new study analyzing nearly 800,000 fashion models over 25 years found that while diversity has increased, the industry’s ideal body type remains overwhelmingly thin.
For years, the rise of the body positivity movement and growing representation of different body types in advertising, fashion campaigns, and social media have fueled the belief that beauty standards are becoming more inclusive.
Curvier models, athletes, and influencers with a wide range of body shapes are now more visible than ever before. To many observers, this shift suggests that the fashion industry’s long-standing preference for extremely thin bodies may finally be changing.
However, a new study suggests the transformation may be more superficial than substantial.
Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), May 2026 the study titled “Cultural Evolution of Beauty Standards” analyzed 793,199 appearances of female models across fashion magazines, advertisements, editorials, magazine covers, and runway shows between 2000 and 2024.
The findings reveal a striking paradox: while diversity has increased significantly, the industry’s core beauty ideal has remained largely unchanged.
According to lead author Richard Boucherie and colleagues, the fashion world has become more visually diverse without fundamentally altering the body type that it considers most desirable.
Why Are Beauty Standards Still Associated With Thin Bodies?
One of the study’s central findings is that diversity has expanded primarily at the margins rather than at the center of the beauty spectrum.
Over the past two decades, fashion brands and magazines have increasingly featured models from different ethnic backgrounds and body sizes. Plus-size models, once largely absent from mainstream fashion, now appear in campaigns for major global brands.
Yet the overwhelming majority of models continue to have exceptionally thin bodies.
In statistical terms, the distribution of body sizes has widened, but the average model remains nearly as thin as models from two decades ago.
The researchers describe this phenomenon as “selective inclusion.”
Rather than replacing traditional beauty ideals, the industry has added a limited amount of diversity while maintaining the same central standard.
This creates the appearance of dramatic change without significantly altering the characteristics most commonly associated with beauty and prestige.
Are Fashion Models Still Far From Average Women?
To assess how representative fashion models are of the broader population, the researchers compared model data with health data from young women in the United States collected through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The results revealed a substantial gap.
Fashion models had an average body fat percentage of approximately 18 percent, while women aged 17 to 30 in the United States averaged around 38 percent body fat.
More importantly, this difference has remained remarkably stable over the past 25 years.
Despite growing conversations about inclusivity and realistic representation, fashion models continue to embody body types that are significantly different from those of most women.
The study suggests that the industry’s preferred aesthetic remains largely disconnected from the physical characteristics of the broader population.
Is Diversity in Fashion Largely Symbolic?
Another notable finding concerns the intersection of race and body size.
The researchers found that non-White models were approximately 4.5 times more likely to be plus-size than White models.
This pattern indicates that the fashion industry may concentrate multiple forms of diversity within the same individuals rather than distributing representation more evenly.
For example, a model may simultaneously represent racial diversity and body-size diversity.
The authors refer to this practice as “symbolic diversification.”
While such representation can increase visibility for underrepresented groups, it does not necessarily indicate that beauty standards themselves are changing.
Instead, the industry may be showcasing diversity in ways that preserve existing hierarchies of attractiveness.
How Has Social Media Changed Beauty Standards?
The study focuses primarily on professional fashion industries, but its implications extend well beyond runways and magazine covers.
Social media has dramatically broadened public exposure to different body types and appearances.
Influencers, athletes, outdoor adventurers, fitness enthusiasts, and content creators now reach millions of people without relying on traditional fashion gatekeepers.
As a result, many people increasingly associate beauty with confidence, authenticity, health, and personal achievement rather than simply thinness.
Yet the study suggests that institutions historically responsible for shaping beauty norms—particularly fashion magazines, luxury brands, and runway shows—continue to favor a relatively narrow body ideal.
Consequently, society is exposed to two competing messages.
One promotes inclusivity and body acceptance.
The other continues to elevate thinness as the most prestigious and aspirational form of beauty.
Could Artificial Intelligence Reinforce Unrealistic Beauty Standards?
The researchers also raise concerns about the growing role of artificial intelligence in shaping visual culture.
Generative AI systems are trained on vast datasets containing millions of online images, including fashion photography, advertisements, and editorial content.
If those datasets reflect existing biases toward thin bodies, AI-generated images may reproduce and even amplify those biases.
As AI-generated content becomes increasingly common in marketing, entertainment, and social media, the technology could further entrench beauty standards that many critics consider unrealistic.
For this reason, the authors argue that AI developers should carefully evaluate training data to ensure that historical biases are not automatically carried into future technologies.
Does Being Beautiful Still Mean Being Thin?
The study does not suggest that beauty standards have remained completely static.
In many ways, today’s definition of beauty is broader than it was at the beginning of the century. People of different ethnicities, body types, and backgrounds enjoy greater visibility than ever before.
However, the research indicates that increased visibility should not be mistaken for a complete transformation of beauty ideals.
Thinness continues to occupy a privileged position within the fashion industry’s hierarchy of attractiveness.
The findings of “Cultural Evolution of Beauty Standards” highlight an important distinction between representation and genuine change.
The fashion world may look more diverse than it once did, but the body type most consistently promoted as ideal remains remarkably similar to the one celebrated decades ago.
In other words, beauty standards may be expanding—but the industry’s definition of the ideal body has yet to fully evolve. (Sulung Prasetyo)
