As a modest fashion designer of women’s plus size clothing I often try to define what it means to me to be a plus size designer and how the way I feel about designing translates through to the person who will eventually wear that design. I have long held a perception of the garments industry as being a cold, uncaring one with images of long isles of seamstresses with piles of freshly sewn garments mounting beside them on the production floor having no appreciation that a real person would eventually wear each of those items one day.
To me those garments are a great deal more than a piece of fabric with lots of stitches in it and designing women’s plus size clothing starts by understanding that a real person will wear that item. Actually I believe that understanding the clothing needs of plus size women is far more involved than their slimmer counterparts because there are many more body shapes with needs specific to each one.
The good news is there are more designers today willing to tackle those needs than ever before and I am one of them. I feel like I’m relatively new to designing even after doing it for more than five years. The following are some of the things I’ve learned about designing women’s plus size clothes that I thought might be interesting to my readers (or maybe not).
Design for specific body shapes
I think the starting point for designing women’s plus size clothing is understanding the differences between the different body shapes and that each one has specific needs, for example the needs of a pear shaped woman are almost exactly opposite of an apple shaped women. In order for a pear shaped woman to balance her overall silhouette the design has to down play her hips while giving the appearance of broadening her shoulders and the inverse is true for the apple shape. Additionally you have to take in to consideration that a woman’s shape also changes with age which effects the approach you take to any given design.
Be In Control of the Process
Different plus size clothing stores choose different ways to bring their clothing to the market. Most choose to purchase items from a company that have already been designed while some design their own and outsource the manufacturing process and a few actually control the design and manufacturing process as well. As a designer I feel that being in control of as much of the process as possible allows me to assure that the design turns out the way I intended it to as well as being in control of the quality of that item. I can tell you that this way is far more work intensive and requires a greater understanding of exactly what it takes to deliver a product, but I can’t think of a better way to meet women’s plus size clothing needs than to be in control of the entire process.
Fit Models
Although there are many things I’ve learned that I could tell you about (most of them boring) the secret weapon that any designer should have in their arsenal is a fit model. Finding a fit model that replicates the target market is not easy but so important. You can order fitting forms that match your specified measurements and indeed we do use them however there is nothing that tells you more about your design than a fit model that matches the targeted body shape your designing around. Finding a fit model is most difficult and yet one of the most important steps that should not be skipped or worked around. In fact if I cannot see a particular design on a plus size fit model, I don’t sleep well at night because I don’t feel confident in the product until I do.
Be directly involved with the day to day transactions of your customer
I cannot think of a better way to have my hands on the pulse of the plus size market than to speak to my customers personally on a regular basis. Our customer have taught me more about designing for plus size women than any book I’ve ever read. I have gone back to the drawing board and re-designed products based on information I’ve gathered from dissatisfied customers on more than one occasion. Contrary to what some may think, I actually appreciate and welcome a sincere complaint. Additionally, to add to the point of being in control of the process as mentioned above, we can respond to these complaints/corrections much faster than our non manufacturing counterparts. My customers concerns do not fall on deaf ears and I realize that they are my greatest teacher.
So what do I think about when I’m designing women’s plus size clothing? There is a human being with needs and desires that will make or break our company and our clothes were not designed to hang in a closet but to be worn out. I have a lot of clothes that just hang in my closet seldom seeing the light of day but I have some that are my favorites that I will wear until they practically fall off my back. I don’t want our clothes to be relegated to a hanger in a dark closet. I often tell the wonderful crew I work with that our job is not done well unless the person we design for feels fabulous and receives compliments on our clothing.
Bobby G. Keith
Designer, Manufacturer and Retailer of women’s plus size clothing
