Fashion: On the plus side

DEAN KOZANIC

FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE: Keri Rapley is making it easier for women buying larger sizes to put their own look together.

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The fashion industry is showing signs of shrugging off its "got to be skinny to sell" insistence.

In New Zealand, labels and stores catering for sizes well over 14 are moving into the glare of the spotlight with brands Savoir (lingerie), The Carpenters Daughter, TS14Plus, Detail, Plush, Long Island, Birzeit, and Nicola Waite now readily available and selling strongly.

In the world where couture lives, some brand-name designers are turning their attention to the large market. Whether here or abroad, big is now big business.

Following New York fashion week in March, the Observer newspaper reported that Marc Jacobs, one of the world's most successful fashion labels, was set to become the first major label to produce a clothes line catering for women bigger than a size 14.

Robert Duffy, president of the Marc Jacobs label, wrote about the concept on Twitter, confirming that the company was in the early stages of discussions to produce a plus-size range. He said it would take a year before the line became available.

"Listen, we are in the very beginning stages of talking to a partner about plus sizes," Duffy tweeted.

Duffy himself seems to be aware of the problems larger sizes have when buying clothes. "I'm a big guy 6ft 4in, 210 lbs. [It's] not easy for me to find clothes," he wrote. "Of course I can have them made. I know how everyone feels. I try to diet but . . . I don't like the phrase plus-sizes. Any suggestions?"

The fashion industry has been showing new interest in fuller- figured women for a year or two now. Singer Beth Ditto, a size 18, has become a fashion star. She has appeared on the cover of Love magazine, designed her own range for English chainstore Evans, which caters for sizes 16-24, and become a front-row figure at fashion shows (Chanel and Fendi). Model Crystal Renn, who is a size 14, has modelled for labels Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier, and been the covergirl for Italian Vogue.

But while these images might have been welcomed by the public, there has been little core change in haute fashion collections. If a Marc Jacobs plus- size range were to be successful, other designers could follow suit, although many say it is harder to design for larger women.

When the New York Times magazine ran a report on the plus- size clothing industry, it reported that a key difficulty encountered by designers was the way dimensions change in women who wear sizes greater than 16 because they gain different amounts of weight on different areas of their body - some become top heavy, some fill out around the stomach - making it harder to create patterns that will work for many women.

That problem has been addressed by Keri Rapley, designer of the Lucabella range produced by Christchurch company Longbeach Apparel. Lucabella was quietly launched in winter last year and now, in August 2010, is hitting its straps. Feminine frilly, summery and colourful straps.

Keri is a pattern cutter of the old school. "I was cutting patterns long before we had computers to help us," she says, and her skills have been put to good use in the new range. "With larger sizes you can't just grade up from a size 12."

Her viewpoint is also, as she puts it, "from the coalface". As a plus size herself, she knows how frustrating it is that some manufacturers do not grasp that this is where one size does NOT fit all. "In 20 years in this [garment] industry, I have seen many mistakes." And worn them. "It's only then do you discover the sleeves have been cut too tight across the biceps. Or the camisole reveals your heavy duty bra straps, or the detailing is bulky when it could be flat . . ."

When women buy clothes it is with the hope they will flatter as well as fit, but in the real world, where clothes envy and fat days can sway decisions, plenty of sales have been made "because at least it fits".

It is a stretch too far to suggest that the Lucabella label is going to be all things to all large sizes but Keri Rapley says "we have made it easier for women buying larger sizes to put their own look together. We do not cut everything from the same block pattern. We include features we know will flatter - vertical panelling and neckline detailing, satin-backed fabrics that slide rather than cling and we've incorporated bright colours with black and greys."

Longbeach Holdings has pitched Lucabella between the chainstores and the top-end designer range and a shipment has gone to Myer department stores in Australia. In Christchurch, it is available at Poppies and Ballantynes.

- © Fairfax NZ News