After his runway show yesterday at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week, fashion designer Tadashi Shoji spoke with Elle.com backstage about the basis of his show, which was women’s liberation, and his thoughts on plus size fashion.
He talked with Elle.com about why he’s not afraid to design for the plus size woman. He believes confidence is key — being confident that a plus size woman can make the clothing beautiful despite having a larger body than what designers are normally accustomed to designing for. He says it’s more about the fit and proportion.
“Maybe they (designers) aren’t confident about the clothing, or confident that big women make it beautiful. I can make any kind of woman look beautiful, I think. Cut and fit is magic – an illusion. If a dress is fitted in the right places, it makes a nice shape, and the waistline looks smaller. If they want to hide a big hip, we can create an illusion. It’s just about having everything in proportion. With the right fit in the right place, I think that any kind of figure can become proportionate and beautiful.”
Tadashi Shoji told Elle.com that designing for plus sizes is not a challenge that should be daunting to designers. He stresses that it’s all about confidence.
“I have confidence, so I can do it. But other people, I don’t know! Maybe they don’t want to, or they can’t. I don’t know why they wouldn’t.”
Tadashi Shoji is a designer who looks at a woman for who she is and not her size. He appreciates a woman’s beauty. It’s refreshing to see a designer who is so confident in his work and belief that any woman can look beautiful with the right fitting dress or outfit. With women’s liberation being the basis for his Spring 2014 collection, he is sending the message to women everywhere that confidence is everything because it gives you the freedom to wear what you want, including pretty feminine colors and fabrics, without sacrificing strength and independence. The clothes don’t make the woman…the woman makes the clothes.
I think Tadashi Shoji and Tim Gunn should collaborate on a plus size clothing line. A girl can dream, can’t she?
To check out the entire Tadashi Shoji interview with Elle.com, click here.
To read our past report on Tadashi Shoji‘s new plus size evening collection, click here.
To read our past report on Tim Gunn and his thoughts on plus size fashion, click here.