Abstract

This study investigates the experiences of plus-size consumers in the fashion markets of Cana-da and Iran, highlighting some of the exclusionary practices within the industry that limit con-sumer access to fashionable and well-fitting clothes. Through a qualitative approach mix of in-depth interviews and netnography, this research explores how coercive, normative, and mimetic institutional pressures form the experiences of plus-size people within these two diverse mar-kets. This study analyzes these pressures to show how cultural, economic, and political ele-ments combine to exclude plus-size consumers, especially in the non-Western contexts of Iran, where economic sanctions make market limitations even worse. This is important because plus-size consumers face great difficulties in general, and plus-size men often do not get attention when it comes to fashion research. Moreover, this research underlines the role of representation in marketing: the visibility of plus-size models can positively influence the self-esteem and con-fidence of consumers. This paper adds to the existing literature on consumer exclusion and fashion through a comparative analysis between the plus-size fashion markets of Canada and Iran. The contributions of this research are at once theoretical, in developing the intersection of institutional theory and consumer exclusion, and practical, with implications for fashion brands, policymakers, and advocates of inclusivity. This study highlights the call for body size inclusiv-ity and shows how one-size-fits-all in plus-size fashion cannot fulfill the many needs that plus-size varied shapes may require. It thus advocates for an approach to fashion that is more inclu-sive and diverse through uptake in custom-designed pieces, increased marketing representation, and policy reforms that will ensure access to these excluded consumers.