Model Measurements: Requirements and Size for High Fashion, Advertising, Plus Size & Curvy Models

Model measurements & height – The classic modelling career, which every aspiring model dreams of, initially depends on the model’s height, with expression, facial expressions and body language coming into play in the second step. Many requirements you have to meet when becoming a model. Exceptions are rare, perhaps one in a thousand, who have managed to make it despite their unique characteristics.

Would you like to become a model for fashion brands, magazines and runways? Send us your application with 2-3 polaroids. Good luck!

Why are model measurements so decisive for jobs?

Why are measurements so important for models? You always have to keep in mind that there are many models. Whether a designer is presenting his collection in London during the Fashion Week, in Paris for Haute Couture, in Hong Kong, in Cape Town or even in New York. Fashion collections are cut to a specific size, especially when they are tailored for the next season and are initially shown on a few sample pieces to customers at fashion shows or in showrooms.

What measurements should I as a model be aware of?

These collection pieces are usually cut to a standard size, which for example in High Fashion corresponds to a height of 175 cm for female models and typically a ready-to-wear size of 34 or 34, 36 (EU). Women should not be taller than 181 cm.

Why? Male models should be at least 185 cm tall and no taller than 190 cm. When female models wear high heels, the biggest differences are not too extreme. At a fashion show, all models are approximately the same height and nothing distracts from the clothing. For men it is particularly important that the body should not be overly trained.

Model for E-Commerce and Online Shops

The same applies to e-commerce and online shops, especially when it comes to the first pieces of a collection, standard sizes are released. Whether it’s clothing in size S or M (US) or shoes with a standard size of 36 to 38 (EU) for women and 42 or 43 (EU) for men.

Here we present everything important for photo models & curvy models, should your measurements differ. Tips for small and tall models:

• Authentic figure? Curvy Models
• Sporty model with broad shoulders? Fitness Model
• Too tall for the catwalk? Models over 180 cm as women?
• Small models and minimum height

Measurements & Sizes at a Glance: National and International

Before we go into detail, these are the general “standards” for 95% of all jobs. The closer you are to these measurements, the better your chances – aside from personality.

• Women
  Height for Fashion: 176 – 180cm / International
  Height for Advertising: 172 – 181cm / Germany
  Slender figure, usually long hair

• Men
  Height for Fashion: 186 – 190cm / International
  Height for Advertising: 184 – 194cm / Germany
  Slender or slightly athletic figure

Those with international measurements can also model abroad!

Measurements for Advertising Models

Those who only want to work in advertising, that is, not in the high fashion sector, do not need to meet these measurements as strictly. Women with a height of 170 cm can be successful, as can those with a height of 183 cm. For male models too, the measurements are more flexible – advertising does not require the “absolute ideal measurements” and the figure can vary slightly.

Requirements for Plus Size Models

Plus Size Models are really in trend. More and more fashion designers and creative arts directors are turning to curvaceous women in advertising. However, there is still a small difference between Plus Size models and Curvy Models. Plus Size models are models who are slightly above the “normal” fashion standards, meaning Plus Size models are women who have a ready-to-wear size of 40 or 44 (EU). Plus Size models can work excellently because more women can identify with them. As a Plus Size model, you can therefore not only work in advertising, but also for fashion clients such as Dior, Chanel and Prada. This makes job opportunities diverse and so you can earn good money as a Plus Size model. Want to become a Plus Size model? Then send us your application!

Measure yourself! Measure your hips, waist and bust

Here you’ll find all the important points on your body to take your measurements yourself. Make sure you wear as little clothing as possible when measuring and be honest with yourself!

Bust (Chest) measurement:
Stand straight and breathe normally. Wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of your bust. This is usually the spot where your bust is fullest. Make sure the measuring tape is not too loose or too tight. It should simply lie flat around your body.

Waist measurement:
Your waist is the narrowest part of your upper body. This is usually just above the navel. Wrap the measuring tape around your waist. Again, make sure the measuring tape is flat and not too tight.

Hip measurement:
You measure your hips at the widest part of your lower body. This is usually over the buttocks and the hip bones. Wrap the measuring tape around this area.

Curvy Models: Measurements and Tailoring

Curvy Models in women with a ready-to-wear size between 38 and 42. The cup size is also significantly larger and can go up to a G cup. Curvy Models are just as popular as Plus Size Models because they most closely match the measurements of an average woman. The average woman in Europe has a ready-to-wear size 44. That means even Curvy Models are only generally within the average size range with a ready-to-wear size of 38 to 42. We are also very pleased to receive your application in our modelling agency as a Curvy Model.

• Here you will find our Curvy Models!

<h3>Camille @Berlin Fashion Week: Video</h3>
Camille from Hamburg visited us for the Berlin Fashion Week and voilà, a new video! Here you can find the first shootings of <a href=”/?p=95870″>Camille</a>!

Indeed! Body height makes a difference in jobs for models

Every model agency would be delighted to have such a diamond. However, for the majority, the rule remains: your modelling career is almost always decided purely based on your height. When we go through applications at the agency, the first piece of information we see is not your name or your place of residence, but your height. Of course, we always take a look at the photos. However, as a smaller model, you will always need that special, international look or a completed portfolio. For international clients, the model’s body and clothing size are particularly important. First, though, we look at what a typical customer from Germany values in their request.

Generally, the following specifications are usually given by the client to the model agency:

1. Model’s height (80% of requests focus on this)
2. Model’s clothing size (70% provide measurements)
3. Model’s appearance (hair length, hair colour, skin tone, etc. in 65% of requests)
4. Recognisability (only 10% of requests)

You can see that measurements make a big difference. You need to find your market as a small model, photo model, curvy model, etc.

Elegant presentation of fashion requires a slim figure

Elegance – For fashion to be presented elegantly, the model’s figure is crucial for fashion designers and their agencies. The model’s proportions must be right for the overall image during the presentation to be correct. Whether it’s a fashion show, advertisement poster or advertising spot. Clothing looks far more elegant on slim figures. We all know the famous “dream measurements” of 90-60-90 (hips/waist/bust). These three measurements are seen as the ideal image when they are in proportion to the body size.

As a high fashion model in Milan or Paris, this is often already too much. Your hips may still be expected to be slimmer as a New Face, as well as your bust. A 87-58-82 (H/W/B) has good chances at castings in the fashion metropolises.

Smaller models have fewer chances at big jobs

If you are under 175cm as a woman, you have no chance at castings in fashion cities. If you are shorter than 175cm, you unfortunately won’t have any chances at the castings of the big designers. However, you still have the chance to secure jobs for online shops, labels and photo shoots in the national market. Therefore, it’s worth it to pursue modelling even if you are shorter, as long as you pay attention to your proportions. For example, if a product is presented by an individual rather than a group, body height is already much less important. If the proportions are right and you have slightly less than 90-60-90 measurements even if you are under 175cm, the overall image will still look good. However, PR and advertising agencies know that smaller models tend to be booked less often, so the pay is slightly lower. The earlier you fit the model schema: tall and attractive, the easier it will be for you.

Over 181cm it becomes difficult again for women. Just as there are limits downwards, there are also limits upwards. Female models over 181cm find it difficult again. Firstly, you are taller than your colleagues. But you are also often taller than your male colleagues. With high heels you are easily as tall as most boys at 187cm. Also on the catwalk. The fashion collections are only produced in one size for the first presentations. Usually for dress size 34 (max. 34/36) at 175-179cm. Fitting model is generally a job you often do as a model.

These are just two factors to describe why it becomes difficult to be a successful model from a certain body height. Nevertheless, you have good chances in the national advertising markets, for example in People agencies. They often have very similar jobs to modelling agencies: commercials, trade fairs & Co. In every big city there are People agencies.

People Models and Faces

The last area of modelling focuses on those with particularly distinctive features: Faces. Extremely wild hair, tattoos, Best Ager and many more. As a People Model, you mainly work in the field of advertising, whether it’s for a cereal commercial or a comfortable mattress. People models reflect the everyday look of ordinary people. They have a particular gap in their teeth, an abundance of curls or a noticeable and distinctive nose. Anyone wanting to work as a People Model should not apply to a modelling agency, but rather to a specialised People agency. What’s the difference? People agencies work just as much in advertising, the only thing they cater less to is the fashion industry. As a model, you can still land jobs in advertising, for online shops or also classic advertising materials such as image brochures and catalogues.

Model measurements are as diverse as the job itself. There’s a suitable agency for every area.

Interview with fashion photographer Oliver Rudolph: Curvy Models

Fashion photographer Oliver Rudolph in an interview with FIV Magazine. Find more models, influencers and photographer interviews in the fashion magazine.

The Effectiveness of Elegance in Advertising for All Kinds of Brands

In the international fashion industry, the rules, as mentioned earlier, are significantly stricter. Instead of 90-60-90, it can just as well be 87-58-82. Fashion designers, as well as agencies, are looking for models to present the products as high-quality as possible. The more high-quality and exclusive the product appears to the consumer in the advertisement or from the poster, the easier it is to justify a high price for the product or service. Therefore, a good model who can sell products through looks and poses can also earn a lot of money. Even for individual advertising campaigns, amounts in the four or five figures are possible for one-day advertising productions for “New Faces”. Why do advertisements need models for events, photos and videos? Read more here: Advertising and its Function in Marketing.

Expensive or affordable: fashion must be presented elegantly

Even more affordable brands always try to match the standard of high-end labels in their advertising. Whether it’s an exclusive, international label or a fashion startup, the model must have a slim body so that the clothing fits perfectly, doesn’t wrinkle and hangs well. This applies to all fashion metropolises and models in New York, Paris, London and Milan.

Fashion is always something special. Fashion lives by being special! New fashion collections are regularly launched by designers around the world for every season. It’s not only big international fashion designers and retail chains that work this way. Small fashion labels also have to continuously present new designs and cuts to their customers in order to capture their attention. Designers and fashion must therefore constantly reinvent themselves in order to remain interesting to consumers.

Becoming a Curvy Model: Supersize Models are becoming increasingly popular

Never before have they been so in demand – Curvy Models. Personality instead of “ideal measurements”. The curves of the 1950s, along with the still prevailing Size 0 models, are bringing the next development in the fashion world: the Curvy Model. It is important to note: Curvy is not the same as lazy and fast food. Nutrition is as important for a model as ever, because you certainly don’t want to lose your athletic curves. The market for Curvys is growing steadily and they are in demand everywhere.

Find out more about the topic: Curvy Models: The Trend of Individuality

Showcases in Milan, New York, Paris, Hong Kong and London

On the Fashion Weeks, new masterpieces are regularly presented. In Milan, New York, Paris, Hong Kong and London. In spring, summer, autumn and winter, people are always looking for new looks and trends. One thing almost all designers have in common is that they design their collections for tall, slim people. The clothing looks more elegant, fabrics show their full effect, everything appears more exclusive and high quality! Slender figures make clothing and its potential price more expensive. Although not all fashion brands work within this framework, it is still the majority of the industry.

Measurements for Fashion Shows

Fashion Shows and fashion presentations are subject to an unwritten standard. For female models, a ready-to-wear size of 34 (maximum 34/36) with a height of 177–180 (176–181) cm is considered ideal at the start of a career. Your hips should be under 91 cm. For male models, a ready-to-wear size of 48 (maximum 50/52) with a height of 185–192 cm is usual. A tip for male models: At the beginning of your career, you should also pay attention to a younger look. If you already look too masculine in your first years as a model, you will quickly lose opportunities for jobs in the fashion industry and at castings. Therefore, as a male model, you should always go to castings with a shaved beard in your first years.

Model Casting Berlin – Video from the Agency Casting

Here is a small insight into a model casting, this one in Berlin in the summer and in the highest club in Berlin, the House of Weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnI6leZ-Lm8

Model Coaching Days – So learn our models

Here you can see one of our last Model Coaching Days (exclusive for our models). Also in the interview, the Model Coach Lutz Marquardt!

Modelling without standard measurements – is that possible?

The modelling industry has changed. While classic runway models still have to meet strict measurement requirements, advertising, social media and catalog photography are increasingly open to diverse body types.

• Runway & High Fashion: 175–182 cm, ready-to-wear size 34–36
• Catalog & Advertising: From 168 cm, sizes 36–40 possible
• Curvy/Plus-Size: Sizes 42–48, focus on presence rather than measurements
• Commercial/Lifestyle: No fixed measurement requirements – authenticity counts

“The measurements are the starting point — but what really makes you successful as a model is personality and professionalism.”

You’re unsure whether your measurements are good enough for a modelling career? Apply to CM Models — we look at every application personally. Find out more about getting started on our Becoming a Model page.