Fashion design for plus size

In 2018, I went back to school to polish my sewing skills, and came out with more than I could ever have imagined. I enrolled at the Richard Robinson Academy of Fashion Design, one of the only schools in Canada still practicing and teaching couture techniques.

Fashion is still behind-the-times in terms of body advocacy, although it is trying, and considers anyone larger than a size 4 to be plus size - which included me. I thought that this was patently ridiculous, so decided to focus on that in my final year, and created a fashion line for plus size women.

I focused on all the things I’d ever wanted in clothes - eco-friendly fabrics, large pockets, a full size range, and stylish, flattering, interesting fashion for curvy girls like myself. Although I still wear the clothes I created, maintaining the fashion line along with all my other commitments in the midst of a pandemic was too much. In the future, I hope to find a brand or fellow designer to work with to give these clothes the rebirth they deserve.

In the meantime, I’ve added all these skills, from pattern making to couture hand-finishing, to my repertoire to create custom clothing and costumes that are perfectly tailored and technically beyond what manufacturing can achieve.