This year’s theCURVYcon brought together some of the biggest players in plus size retail. So, in a panel moderated by Premme co-founder Nicolette Mason, the women behind the plus-size clothing at Dia&Co, Old Navy, Lane Bryant, JCPenney, and Rebdolls sat down to discuss the state of the industry—and share their hopes, dreams, and plans for the future of fashion. Here are just some of the ways retailers are increasing the options available for women sizes 14 and up!
The Panel (pictured above from left to right):
Moderator: Nicolette Mason, Co-founder of Premme
Malissa Akay, SVP General Merchandising Manager, Lane Bryant
Nadia Boujarwah, CEO and Co-Founder of Dia&Co
Lynne J. Coleman, Sr. Divisonal Brand Management Director, JCPenney
Griselangel Paula, Founder and CEO, Rebdolls
1. Learning from data
Nadia Boujarwah, our CEO and Co-founder, kicked off the conversation by talking about the limitations of plus-size fashion—and how our community’s tastes may evolve and change as more options become available. She emphasized the importance of keeping an eye on how a product performs over time to really get a good sense of what plus-size women are looking for. We were excited to learn that the other leading brands in the plus-size fashion space are on the same page. Many of the representatives shared that they conduct fit tests and consumer surveys to perfect the products they offer to the plus-size community. All of the retailers agree that since our community has been underserved through fashion for so long, looking at data is crucial to providing clothing options women sizes 14 and up will love.
2. Showcasing diversity
We’re not all one shape, color, or size—every aspect of plus-size fashion brands should reflect that. Nadia believes that diversity needs to start at the ground level with hiring employees, “For us to be able to serve an incredibly diverse customer group, we have to be able to have diversity of thought around the table anytime we’re making a decision.” Lynne J. Coleman of JCPenney added that diversity is “the backbone of collaborative innovation.” For Lane Bryant’s representative, Malissa Akay, casting models of all races and ethnicities is integral to their marketing. She ended with a call to action for the modeling industry to “help us with this cause and progress even further.”
3. Creating what’s missing
We need high-quality activewear in plus sizes—which is why we launched Dia&Co Active back in May. Luckily, we’re not the only ones going down this path. We partnered with another brand on the panel, Lane Bryant, to bring their active line to the Dia Community. Griselangel Paula, the founder and CEO of Rebdolls, expressed interest in developing their own active collection, but wanted to make sure they could get the quality our community deserves at a reasonable price point. Lynne from JCPenney, shared that they have their employees fit test activewear while being physically active to ensure styles were up to their standards. After all, as Nadia put it, “There’s a misconception in the broader world that the plus woman is looking for athleisure and not performance—and that’s just not true.”
4. Fitting for all body shapes
An audience member expressed frustration with the lack of stylish options for her unique shape. The representatives from both Lane Bryant and Old Navy took this question on—explaining that they test all new styles, fabrics, prints, and silhouettes on all shapes to make sure they would fit every body. Here at Dia&Co, we’re just as invested in developing new pieces that work for everyone. Thanks to our team of fit experts, we’re able to conduct our own tests to design items that are, as Malissa put it, “fit agnostic.”
What would you have asked the women on the “Dear Retailer” panel? Share this post with your questions—we might even get to answer them in an upcoming post!
