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Designers face reality
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September 13, 1996: 7:43 p.m. ET
Clothing for larger women begins to gain respect in fashion industry
From Correspondent Valerie Morris
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - She's been one of the most neglected individuals in the fashion industry; a victim of the dictates of Paris catwalks with no one to turn but to her tailor for alterations. She's the hard-to-fit woman.
But clothing designers may have finally noticed the obvious: Most women don't look like the rail-thin models in fashion shows. (616K QuickTime movie)
Stores and designers are cashing in on a new trend to produce stylish clothes for the so-called "special-sized" woman. That's the industry code for both larger sizes and also petite lines of clothes.
Many big department stores are greatly expanding their special-sized clothing departments, a fashion category formerly dominated by specialty shops.
According to industry estimates, large-size women's sales totaled $20 billion last year, up 21 percent from 1993.
Sales of petite clothes are…petite, bringing in about $4 million a year.
"It's definitely a customer-driven business," said Marilyn Carracino, who manages petite and large sizes for Sak's Fifth Avenue.
"As the statistics have shown, over 37 percent (of women) wear at least a 16 or above. Sak's felt it was very important, based on their position in the retail community, that they service this customer," Carracino said.
Many big-name clothing manufacturers have latched onto the trend. Some, like Liz Claiborne, are selling a separate line of special-sized clothes for both ends of the market.
Liz Claiborne's president of special sizes, Karen Greenberg, said the key is to create stylish garments.
"We have our own design team that designs for this customer but we don't put any limitations. This customer just wants fashion. She wants trend."
Liz Claiborne and others hire larger women to display their new lines and models, like Alexandra Boos of Ford Models, sound like fashion activists. "The fashion industry was dictating to me that I had to change, that I needed to be thin to fit into their garments. Now I think they understand that women come in all sizes."
The rumblings of revolution can clearly be heard among hard-to-fit women who want to walk stylishly into the future.
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