时尚街拍网With the rise in influence (and visibility) of models such as Robyn Lawley, Candice Huffine and Tess Holliday (who are all bigger than the model "standard??? size) and the straightforward fact that the average dress size in this country is 16, it???s perhaps not so surprising that the fashion offer for this style-hungry demographic is stepping up its game, which, until now, has been largely the preserve of the high street ??? with Evans, Asos Curve and Mango???s Violeta fashion-conscious and popular collections cornering the market.
Offering something a little more elevated is singer Beth Ditto???s (herself size 18) eponymous collection, which launched online and in Selfridges on Monday.The collection is produced with an ethical premise entirely in a factory in Brooklyn.It runs from sizes 14 to 28, offering T-shirts for around ??40, silk dresses for ??240 and recycled and embroidered vintage denim jackets for ??170.
Young American jacket, ??160.28, Beth Ditto
The outspoken and agenda-setting erstwhile front woman of the band Gossip, Ditto is a sort of lucky charm mascot for planet fashion.She appeared naked on the inaugural cover of Love magazine in 2009, walked in Jean Paul Gaultier???s 2011 ready-to-wear show and last September appeared on the runway in Marc Jacobs???Ziegfeld Theater show at New York Fashion Week.Alongside this, in 2009 she collaborated with Evans on a collection and last year released a tongue-in- cheek corset detailed T-shirt with Gaultier as a precursor to this week???s full collection release.So it???s not such a wild step to have moved into designing her own label, something she says she has ???always wanted to do???.
The 34-year-old singer ??? who will release her first solo record this year ??? relished the control that working on her own (self-funded) project has afforded her.???It was really fun working with Evans, but there were a lot of things I want to do, like a Miss Piggy shirt, but they said, "Little kids will get the wrong idea and feel self-conscious???,??? she says.???I liked the idea of putting her on a T-shirt and for it to be a powerful thing, not an insult.It???s frustrating because the market is very apologetic; there???s still so much shame involved.This idea that you???re bigger, but you???re not supposed to be:I want this to be positive.???
Lola dress in dove grey, ??160.28,Beth Ditto
As one might expect, Ditto???s line offers something for fans of her exuberant personality.There are dramatic flowing jumpsuits, vibrant coloured geometric printed and lipstick kiss motifs across leggings and draped tops, but also pared down, chic classics: shift dresses with flattering ruching around the neck and waist; a loose, classy V-neck black evening dress; simple scoop-neck T- shirts in pretty pastel pinks cut slanted across the top of the arm, and neatly tailored black pencil skirts.Ditto, offers a carefully edited and well thought through collection; ???Staples are something I think a lot of average-sized women take for granted but are really hard to find for curvy women.We???re trying to offer something dependable as well as the loud and brasher pieces.???Her approach is pragmatic.???I wear so much black,??? says Ditto.???Why?Because it???s easy and it always matches.I???m not packing a trunkful of nylon catsuits everywhere I go.It???s hard to find something between the two.???
Barbie Ferreira in the modern love jumpsuit,???, ??273.32, Beth Ditto
It is encouraging this is a collection that offers practical solutions as much as the cachet of a style-savvy celebrity name."Plus??? size fashion appearing in the mainstream is so often fetishised and regarded as something other: when a larger model appears on a catwalk she is often dressed in a revealing outfit, or simply in underwear, as if to ram home the message, "Look, we are showing bigger models, we???re inclusive!??????For Ditto, context is key:???There are times when being photographed naked has been an empowering thing to do, and I think it???s an important move to see fat women, or even just normal women in their underwear.It???s important for women to look in magazines and see something more like them.But my fear is it can be oversexualised, and that women have to justify everything through some sexualised filter.If you want to feel sexy, that???s amazing, but if you want to be a clown, be a clown.This collection isn???t about being fetishised.Hopefully we???ve created that.???
Her aim is to make the fashion experience ???normal??? for women who, like her, want more than a cheap pair of leggings.
Summer weight leggings, ??75.23, Beth Ditto
Ditto will celebrate her 35th birthday next week, the day after her London Fashion Week debut where she will throw a party to celebrate the collection.Like any self-respecting thirty-something who came of age in the Nineties, her formative fashion experiences came via the film Clueless.She cites the scene where Cher Horowitz declares ???I don???t rely on mirrors so I always take Polaroids??? when getting ready for a date.???That was amazing,??? she says, ???but now you have Instagram you don???t even need that any more.There???s nothing like thinking "what does the back of my hair look like???? and then taking a video of it.???Who doesn???t want that kind of logic applied to their wardrobeplanning?
