COME ONE, COME ALL

Bazaar India spotlights five labels focused on letting women revel in the joy of fashion size notwithstanding

- PRAACHI RANIWALA

 

What do (curvy) women want? More than oversized, baggy clothes or just a few options stowed away on a corner shelf. The idea of fashion as a form of self-expression being limited just to sizes falling on the lower end of the scale is hypocritical. More so, in a country where the average woman is curvier than her Caucasian or Asian counterparts. According to data platform Statista, the plus-size segment—those who wear beyond sizes 0-12 —constitutes about half of the total consumers in India. Even so, this customer is often left wanting. Lack of variety or thoughtful design are top concerns, as is the dearth of versatile cuts to complement their bodies.

There is, however, a crop of designers, looking at the bigger picture, and walking the inclusivity talk. We speak to them as they tell us why (every) size, in fact, does matter.

HALF FULL CURVE

 The label was born out of the experiences of Tinka Bhatia, Half Full Curve’s co-founder, who struggled to find appealing options for her UK size 16-18 frame. So she teamed up with her sister Rixi Bhatia to address all that she felt was amiss for women in this category. “A lot has changed since we launched in 2017 with brands being more size-inclusive, but we still have a long way to go,” says Rixi. Today, walk into Half Full Curve’s studio in Mumbai, and you will find up to UK size 20 on the racks. “We have samples in sizes even bigger than that too. So clients can at least see how the silhouette looks on them,” adds the designer. They work with their own size chart, which tweaks global sizes to suit Indian bodies. Rixi finds that they are often slotted as a ‘plus-size’ brand, even though their clothes are made with different body types in mind, and are not just for larger sizes.