Plus size fashion is evolving into size-inclusive clothing, with brands like 11 Honoré and Universal Standard leading the way
- Size-inclusive brands offer both traditional and plus sizes and aim to provide more trendy designs for a broader range of women
- Established labels are also jumping on the bandwagon, including Mara Hoffman, Reformation and even Amazon-owned Shopbop.com
Fashion insiders have for years hailed plus size as the next big business opportunity, yet before 2017 only a handful of brands and designers had been willing to take the leap forward. That all changed when 11 Honoré, an online retailer offering luxury fashion in extended sizes, made its debut.
Its founder, former marketing executive Patrick Herning, achieved what so many had thought was impossible. He convinced a small but influential group of American designers – many of whom had never created clothes in sizes larger than a US10 – to extend their size range up to a US24.
Herning may not have realised it then but the industry was having a watershed moment as “size inclusive” fashion, a category with the potential to overshadow the plus-size segment, started to flourish. Unlike plus size, which just offers sizes above the traditional US0 to 12 range, size-inclusive brands offer both traditional and plus sizes, allowing them to cater to a much wider range of women.
“11 Honoré set out to create parity within the category,” Herning says. “For the first time ever we worked with ‘straight’ size designers to extend their size range to be more inclusive. I think Gen Z will ultimately shift how brands approach their sizing because they expect so much more. Size inclusivity is paramount.”
