High fashion for plus-size women: Isabel Toledo and Lane Bryant join forces on glamorous new collection that starts at size 14
- Isabel Toledo is most famous for dressing Michelle Obama at the President's first inauguration in 2009
Fashion designer Isabel Toledo has unveiled a plus-size collection for clothing retailer Lane Bryant.
The limited-edition range, which hit the runway last week, is full of feminine skirts, printed sheath dresses, and elegant evening coats.
Mrs Toledo’s creations range in price from $60 for a T-shirt to $178 for embellished jackets, and have been produced for sizes 14 through 28.
Big premiere: Isabel Toledo's collection for Lane Bryant debuted last week with a full runway show
Logic: The designs are meant to offer women of larger sizes 'eccentric' and fashionable clothing options
Limited pieces from the line - designed in partnership with Mrs Toledo's husband and famed illustrator Ruben Toledo - are currently available in Lane Bryant stores, as well as on the retailer's site.
In an interview with Fashionista.com, Mrs Toledo expressed how she feels it’s her ‘duty’ to provide larger-sized women with ‘eccentric’ and fashionable clothing.
‘The liberty, the freedom, the right to be eccentric, to be their size, and to have the freedom or opportunity to enjoy fashion at any size…I can’t imagine not having that, so I feel a duty to provide it,’ she said.
Signatures adapted: Ms Toledo's design hallmarks for watercolor florals, feminine fabrics, and unorthodox color combinations were incorporated into the line
New shapes: The designer says that she was comfortable designing for the retailer because of its expertise in the plus-size market
The 52-year-old designer, who rose to fame after creating Michelle Obama’s ‘lemongrass’ ensemble for President Obama’s first inauguration, also expressed how she was completely comfortable in adapting her signature aesthetic to new silhouettes.
Lane Bryant’s expertise in plus-size clothes, she says, is the reason.
Mrs Toledo explained that ‘When I came to realize, the one thing I can do with Lane Bryant, they’ve got the size, they’ve got the proportion.
‘I was free to design without worrying about getting it right.’
The collection represents a growing push by Lane Bryant to offer its customers more fashionable designs.
Big break: While Mrs Toledo had already established a name in fashion, her breakout moment came in 2009 when Michelle Obama wore a 'lemongrass' ensemble of her design to President Obama's first inauguration
The designer: Isabel Toledo, 52, is the first high-end designer to collaborate with Lane Bryant
The retailer, which operates more than 800 stores nationwide, just announced last week that it has partnered with French designer Sophie Theallet on a range of lingerie for its intimates line Cacique.
The collection will be priced from $19.99 for a pair of underwear to $108 for a corset.
It will hit stores this fall, with a second line being issued for spring.
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MsDeeDee, Richmond, United States, 8 hours ago
Sad that this is considered "plus size". They all look very healthy and normal.