Chinese plus-size influencer spreads body positivity through fashion [Video]

Surrounded by racks of colourful dresses and blazers in China’s manufacturing hub of Guangzhou, plus-size clothing brand owner and influencer Amanda Yao is on a mission to promote body positivity.

She is part of a small but growing number of women in China challenging restrictive beauty standards, including thinness, pale skin and childlike features.

Online, a frequently circulated saying claims that “there are no good women over 50 kilograms (110 pounds)”, while recent social media challenges have women squeezing into children’s clothes or showing off the coins they can stack on their collarbones.

Yao makes fashionable, high-end clothing for plus-size women, offering a vibrant contrast to the poorly cut offerings normally available in “slimming” dark colours.

“I want my customers to have clothes that express who they are inside, rather than soulless pieces that exist only to make them look thinner,” the 35-year-old told AFP.

When it comes to clothing, …