Tim Gunn, co-host of the popular reality TV show Project Runway, called out the fashion industry in a recent editorial piece in the Washington Post for refusing to design for plus-size or even average size women.
He explained “I love the American fashion industry, but it has a lot of problems, and one of them is the baffling way it has turned its back on plus-size women.” He cites statistics, including:
· The average American woman now wears between a size 16 and a size 18
· There are 100 million plus-size women in America, and, for the past three years, they have increased spending on clothes faster than other segments.
“But many designers – dripping with disdain, lacking imagination or simply too cowardly to take a risk – still refuse to make clothes for them,” he wrote. The disheartening choices plus-size women face is vividly illustrated by what Bloomberg reporters uncovered in a recent analysis:
· Only 8.5 percent of dresses on Nordstrom.com were plus-size while at J.C. Penny’s website, it was 16 percent.
· On Nike.com, the situation was far worse, with only 5 items for plus-size women.
While lamenting that changing the industry is difficult, Gunn thinks it is not impossible. One company he is optimistic about is Eloquii, an online start-up that was born in 2014. “The trendy plus-size retailer, whose top seller is an over-the-knee boot with four-inch heels and extended calf sizes, grew its sales volume by more than 165 percent in 2015.” You can check the company out at www.eloquii.com.
To read Gunn’s editorial piece, click here:
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