Fashion StartUp Faces 'Fatphobic' Backlash After Telling Customers to Lose Weight Rather Than Stock Plus Sizes Charlotte PhillippOctober 24, 2025 at 3:55 AM 0 chimaera/Instagram Marie Founder & Creative Director @chimaera The owner of a startup clothing label has come under fire after claiming that ...
- - Fashion Start-Up Faces 'Fatphobic' Backlash After Telling Customers to Lose Weight Rather Than Stock Plus Sizes
Charlotte PhillippOctober 24, 2025 at 3:55 AM
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chimaera/Instagram
Marie Founder & Creative Director @chimaera -
The owner of a start-up clothing label has come under fire after claiming that brands don't need to be size-inclusive
Marie Efstratiou, the owner of new Australian streetwear label Chimaera, wrote that she doesn't believe clothing brands should carry plus sizes
"You need to choose health and drop to a safe size," she wrote on TikTok
The owner of a start-up clothing label has come under fire after claiming that brands don't need to be size-inclusive.
In a post shared to her TikTok account on Oct. 15, Marie Efstratiou, the owner of new Australian streetwear label Chimaera, wrote that she doesn't believe clothing brands should carry plus sizes. "Brands don't need to stock sizes XXXXL. You need to choose health and drop to a safe size," Efstratiou, 34, wrote alongside a video of herself applying makeup.
In the caption, she added, "ppl gon to be mad but it be true," with the hashtags #health, #weight, #obese, and #brandowner.
mariexef/TikTok
Marie Founder & Creative Director @chimaera
The video drew major ire from the TikTok community soon after it was posted, and has since garnered thousands of views. Though a few commenters agreed with Efstratiou, writing "amen" as they supported her video, most others were critical of how she was treating plus-sized consumers.
"People deserve access to clothes no matter their size," one person commented. "Health and body size are not the same thing, and shaming people while pretending it's 'about health' is just cruelty dressed up as concern."
"I'll let my PCOS insulin resistance know, hopefully these words of wisdom help," another sarcastic comment read, while another person wrote, "Rage baiting is such a shortsighted form of marketing. This is what you're going to be remembered for, not your product or values."
One larger-sized man weighed in on the conversation, writing: "What about us men? I'm a XXXXL well technically a XXXL but my back and biceps really struggled to fit."
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"Are you suggesting I should lose muscle? I'm not overweight just buff," he added, as Efstratiou replied: "Nah keep the bulk son, you good."
In a statement to Australian outlet News.com.au and the Daily Mail, Efstratiou said she stands by her comments in the TikTok video. "My post is addressing brands not having to stock such extreme sizes. I don't believe that to be fat phobic," she told the outlets. "Not all brands need to be 'inclusive' and if people have an issue with that, then the issue lies within themselves."
The Chimaera owner added that anyone who took "offense" to her video should look inward at their own insecurities. "Being inclusive isn't what I am trying to be nor the audience I'm targeting," she continued. "I don't care (about) the people who had an issue with the post, so having them not purchase from my brand does not pose an issue."
"People who take everything personally are the people with a victim mentality, and they are definitely not my target audience," she finished. "In conclusion, yes, I stand by my comments. I'm not one to make a statement and not stand by it."
Chimaera sells unisex hoodies and sweatpants. Sizes range from small to large, and hoodies cost $190 (about $123 USD) while sweatpants are $150 ($97 USD).
After Efstratiou's video began circulating, a number of clothing brand owners spoke out about their experience stocking plus-sized clothing.
Brittney Saunders, the founder of the clothing brand Fayt, which offers sizes 6-26, responded to the video. "Everyone deserves to wear clothes," she wrote. "This is certainly an opinion. Bold of you to post with your face and business name on display."
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