“Don’t tell me [the
curvy woman] isn’t
willing to invest.
She just hasn’t been
given the option!”- PATRICK HERNING
they were equally shocked at the
number of brands who rejected
them. “In the beginning there were
definitely brands who said ‘No,
absolutely not’, but I’m not one to
take no for an answer,” Herning said in
an interview at the time.
And his persistence is working: the
brand stable has expanded from 16 names
at launch to more than 55 — Christopher
Kane, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen and Tome
among them — and in early 2018 the plat-
form received $10.9 million in funding.
For those designers who have yet to jump
on the plus-size bandwagon, an often-cited
reason is a very real (and costly) question of
logistics, including size grading, whereby
designs have to be entirely redraped or recut the
further they move beyond sample size (6–8).
Similarly, if individual designers were to create
larger sample sizes, it could result in a loss of press
coverage due to garments not fitting the majority of
‘straight’ models or the A-list celebrities who appear
on magazine covers or walk red carpets.
For Becca McCharen-Tran of New York-based
Chromat, which is stocked at 11 Honoré and
which has recently debuted a collection with sizes
ranging up to XXXL, sample sizing is a challenge
she is willing to take on. “Sample sizes are not
pre-ordained by the industry — it’s the choice
of the designer,” she tells BAZAAR. “It’s up to
me and it’s important to me that I make that
choice, allowing more people into that world
and allowing people to see their body in a high-
fashion context. It’s worth the challenges.” To
wit, McCharen-Tran took matters into her own
hands, hosting a four-day sizing workshop for
which she opened the doors of her atelier for ‘come
one, come all’ fittings to gain insights on the tech-
nicalities of cutting garments for different body
shapes. “We entered the space humbly and had a
massive fit test,” McCharen-Tran recalls. “More
than 100 people came in to try on the whole collec-
tion, from extra-small to triple-XL. It was four days
of more than 500 back-to-back fittings, and we
learnt so much about different strap lengths, torsos,
and we now have much better production.”
11 Honoré is realistic that this kind of workshop
isn’t achievable for every brand, which is why its busi-
ness model includes offering grading services to
designers to help make seguing into the plus-size
market easier. “We helped co-create pattern develop-
ment with brands such as 3.1 Phillip Lim and
GETTY IMAGES; JASON LLOYD-EVANSAltuzarra. So now we have a consultancy we can send
to help other designers who come
onboard,” Herning explains. “Grading is
specific and you can’t simply take your
size-six patterns and grade up to a 20,
because the garment loses its shape. It
requires a new pattern — but we’re all
across what happens.”
Andwhatoftheoft-raised argument
that curvy women aren’t willing to invest
in fashion? “I can’t tell you how many
times I’ve heard that,” Herning says with
a sigh. “Go to The Beverly Hills Hotel
and sit in The Polo Lounge for 90 minutes. In that hour and
ahalf,youwillsee100womenwhoareourcustomer. Birkin
bags, Chanel flats, Cartier watches — don’t tell me she’s not
willing to invest. She just hasn’t been given the option!
Ialways knew she was out there.”
Indeed, she was out there. 11 Honoré started transacting
six hours after its first announcement — on an industry
trade website. For the first 10 months, marketing
was organic and unpaid for, meaning customers
were actively seeking it out. Even before the plat-
form had sorted out international postage, one
Australian early adopter spent $400 on express
shipping for a pair of $800 pants. Herning
says 11 Honoré’s return rate is zero. The year
ahead will see pop-ups in the Middle East, a
Christian Siriano event in New York and
Switzerland’s Art Basel — “anywhere luxury
brands have a presence. You think of Net-a-
Porter, you think of Moda Operandi, you
think of 11 Honoré.”From left: Tome
S/S 2019; Prabal
Gurung S/S
2019; 11 Honoré
A/W 2019.From left: models Robyn
Lawley, Hunter McGrady
and Myla Dalbesio at
New York fashion week.From top: Christian
Siriano A/W 2018;
11 Honoré A/W
2019; as above;
Tome S/S 2019.