Gabrielle Union Creates Plus-Sized Clothing Line for Curvy Women

Mother, actress, wife and entrepreneur, Gabrielle Union, has teamed up with New York & Company’s plus-sized division, Fashion to Figure, to bring a new voice to curvy fashion. Union first stepped into designing with her New York & Company Fall 2017 collection. Her vision then was to create apparel for the modern woman that included a range of sizes and affordable price points while still offering styles that were, “cool, fly, and dope.” Union has since continued to empower women through fashion with her new collaboration with Fashion to Figure.

The Gabrielle Union x FTF Collection features holiday styles curated to reflect Gabrielle’s glamour and edge along with FTF’s unapologetic celebration of curves. The 13-piece collection includes beautiful holiday separates adorned in sexy sequins and standout shimmer that range from $70 – $200.

Union, who herself is not plus-sized, said that she wanted to do something for women who are.

"This partnership goes beyond offering a more inclusive and extended size range, it was a deliberate effort to focus on a technical fit that celebrates curves,” explains the former America's Got Talent Judge.

But this is not the first time Union has wanted to do something for plus-sized women. As a matter of fact, Gabrielle Union’s spring 2018 campaign featured her co-stars from the hit show “Being Mary Jane.” On social media, many were excited and some were disappointed because the spring collection only went up to certain small to mid sizes.

Well, now the wait is over.

Her sister is plus size and she wanted to create some stylish plus size options. Union was able to create a misses and extended sizes collection with New York & Company with select pieces going up to an 20 and XXL. The collaboration she has now with Fashion to Figure allows her to create a full fledged plus size clothing line that ranges from size 12 to 24 and 1X-3X.

“My line’s availability at Fashion to Figure is a critical and personal moment for me,” Union continued. “This is for my family and all the plus-size women who have messaged me asking for...

...Gabrielle Union [clothing line]."

If you're wondering, this is a good business move for Union, because plus-size women's clothing is a very profitable business.

According to Plunkett Research, they estimate that 68 percent of American women wear a size 14 or above, up slightly from the frequently cited 67 percent figure it found in 2012.

How much is this average American woman spending on her wardrobe? According to the most recent figures available from market research firm NPD, US sales of women’s plus-size apparel reached $21.4 billion in 2016. The category is also growing substantially faster than the overall US apparel market, at a rate of 6 percent versus 3 percent year over year.

There are some plans to improve: Target is expanding its plus-size options in around 300 stores this year, up from 150. Nordstrom also recently announced that it is extending its size offerings for 100 brands across 30 stores in 2018, and will stock the new sizes (ranging from 00 to 18) alongside core merchandise in stores, rather than putting sizes above a 14 in its traditional designated Encore department. Overall, however, the retailer stocks up to a size 28, and the smallest selection remains that of sizes 20-plus.