It’s Fashion Week here in New York—again! I say again because it seems to come around so quickly. I’ve been behind the scenes at the Anne Klein and Perry Ellis design house fashion shows as a design studio assistant since 1987 so I’ve seen it all, and from all angles. I used to help confirm and schedule the fittings of the models for shows, and then be part of the team assigned to a model (think the fabulous Cindy Crawford or naughty Naomi Campbell—the first REAL supermodels, and hello they had curves!) to furiously fuss and “primp” them before they hit the catwalks. Today I’m sitting in a tent on Bryant park—the hub for Fashion Week, though I remember when many of the catwalks took place in the Parsons School Auditorium (now famous for the hit show Project Runway).
Time flies in the fashion industry. In fact, I think we live in a different time zone! We are always six months ahead of everyone else. I dream of fur coats in spring, and look for sundresses and bathing suit directions after Labor Day. Weird huh? Now, imagine not just interpreting the trends for any size, but interpreting the latest trends for the most popular sizes—the “double digit” sizes 12, 14, 16, and up. That’s my job. I look at what’s sashaying down the runway on a not-so-curvy body, and I translate the trends for us real women. I also check with store buyers to find out what designers are sizing up for us—those are the department and specialty stores I’ll want to spend my money in!
American designers (though, still not enough of them, mind you) are embracing more of us in their size range for a collection. Who, you ask? Well, the diffusion lines of Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Anne Klein, Ralph Lauren, Kimora Lee Simmon’s Baby Phat line, and Carmen Marc Valvo’s evening wear are all available to us now. There is also Vera Wang’s Simply Vera line for Kohl’s for size 16 women—that’s BIG for Vera! Disappointing was the momentary blip of DKNY and Oscar de la Renta being more inclusionary. Sigh.
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