Madeline Jones October 19, 2015

Ever wished you could work with a designer? Join the +Project!

Inspire and collaborate directly with a designer! Join PMM Editor-in-Chief Madeline “Maddy” Jones and designer Marla Wynne as they invite you to collaborate with them on the development of Marla’s Spring 2016 collection.

If you know me, then you know that I have held on to the “Plus Size and Proud” banner since the inception of PLUS Model Magazine. Now 10 years later, I find myself a 40-something woman navigating within an industry that seems to have forgotten about me as I have grown older.

This is not PLUS SIZE specific, but a universal standard across the industry. So when I met designer Marla Wynne, we not only instantly connected on many levels but when it came to the topic of age and fashion, we discovered passionate common ground.

As a young woman, Marla Wynne Ginsburg moved to Paris as television producer to run a French television studio. While living there, she fell in love and had two children. Eventually that French “savoir faire” rubbed off on her, becoming a part of her lifestyle and fashion sensibility. After many years, Marla returned to America and realized she was not able to find those elegant, comfortable pieces she had begun collecting while in Paris and the MARLAWYNNE collection was born.

Fast forward to today: Two women with completely different lives, separated by more than a decade in age, instantly connected because of our passion for women and our love of fashion. We quickly realized that women 40+ face the same frustrations with the fashion industry as plus size women — they are largely ignored. While the plus community bonded together and politicized our frustrations, women over 40 still seem to be willing to “take what they can find” that fits their changing bodies and lifestyles.

I will admit I have never worked with a designer who designs for both straight and plus size women, and Marla has never had the opportunity to work directly within the plus size fashion industry as intimately and directly as I’m taking her. We’ve decided that this journey we are on together should have a name, so we picked something that says it all: THE +PROJECT.

THE +PROJECT will bring Marla and I to your virtual doorstep. We want to build the perfect looks and silhouettes with your input. You will be part of the process, inspiring what we do within the context of Marla’s very European sensabilities. Every month, we will be reporting on our progress and asking for your feedback. In the end, we will be showing the result of our collaboration as part of the MARLAWYNNE Collection on HSN. How amazing is that?

We have already started thinking about color stories and silhouettes for Spring 2016 and we hope you will share your color inspiration with us on Plus Model Magazine’s facebook page. Our favorite “Spring Color Story” will win a piece from Marla’s iconic and bold jewelry collection.

I hope you will join us on this journey because it’s going to be great fun and is giving you a chance to play a part in the development of a collection with a very democratic fit for everyBODY….. because after all, Fashion and Beauty should be Ageless.

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