
We’ve talked a little bit recently about how plus-size options are dwindling away because retailers are stupid and shortsighted and ought to be kicked in the head and it is all pretty angry-making, but here is something that sounds like kind of an antidote: the very first “Full-Figured Fashion Week” is being staged next week in New York, June 25-27 (which…is not so much a week?). Let’s ignore the cringey name and the bad math for a moment, and hear what the organizer has to say:
With over 10 years experience in fashion show production, Gwen DeVoe, CEO of DSE and Executive Producer of FFFWeek says, “It is time for designers, retailers, boutique owners and businesses with an interest in the plus size market to combine their resources and their talents to create a memorable event that will rival all other Fashion Weeks. We are uniquely qualified to make this event a success because we work directly with plus size consumers and know what they want. They want great fitting, fashionable clothing that is readily available in stores and online. The plus size consumer is a loyal consumer and because quality fashion items are so hard to find, they will be loyal to brands that they like.”
No! Really, is that what they want? That is a revolution! And you know what’s sad? As a rule, I hate the brutally materialistic consumer culture, the idea that customers are commodities, faceless wallets, numbers to be racked up and stacked up and counted down as cold, hard cash–but when it comes to plus size fashion, plus-size customers begging to be treated that way, as any other customer who ought to be wooed, who ought to be looked at as an advantage, a sales opportunity, another bump in their stock price. That companies need to be browbeaten, slapped around until they’re woken up and realize they have customers who are begging to be treated like fountains of money? I still can’t believe they’re that dumb, and willing to throw away that much business.
We believe that FFFWeek will not only provide an opportunity for independent designers to market their collections to a wider audience, and a unique opportunity for plus models to gain more professional exposure on the runway, but also a chance for the media, buyers and the general public to have access to collections that have not received the marketing and publicity they deserve. FFFWeek is also an excellent vehicle for those retailers and boutiques who want to expand their customer base.
And despite the name, I am hoping this works out for everyone they’re trying to reach–the customers, the designers, the companies, the stores, the models, that one guy named Joe. FFFWeek wants to make everyone happy! FFFWeek wants to happily impoverish the fat and gleefully poverish the smart designers who realize that fat is not a goddamn disease and put more big, gorgeous ladies with thighs and bellies and butts out on the runway and I salute Gwen DeVoe, CEO of DSE, and I hope she is rolling around in piles of money at the end of this week, ensuring that this is not the last of this kind of event, and outreach, and celebration. I guess we’ll have to see how this actually pans out–will it happen, and nothing will change? Or will it actually make a difference in how plus-size fashion is designed and marketed and sold? I have to admit, I’m the tiniest bit hopeful, I really am.
What do you think of FFFW? And is there anyone in New York? Go and report back!
Posted by jenfu
Filed under: Advertising, Cold Hard Cash, Fashion, Fat Positive, Media | 12 Comments »