J Crew/ Instagram(NEW YORK) — More women than ever are now able to shop at J. Crew.
The clothing brand announced Tuesday that it had launched a new line of tops, pants, skirts and dresses that range from XXS to 5X.
Universal Standard, a label that specializes in inclusive fashion, collaborated on the collection. Lisa Greenwald, J.Crew’s chief merchandising officer, said that Universal Standard helped with everything from the designs to manufacturing.
This new line, which ranges in price from $50 to $150, comes more than a year after J. Crew and its sister brand, Madewell, expanded the sizes of their denim offerings.
“We recognize our platform as a mainstream American brand and feel proud to have the responsibility and the privilege to do more for our customers,” Greenwald said, according to Glamour. “We’re excited to continue working toward more inclusivity and making J.Crew available to everyone. This has been a long process, throughout which we’ve worked very closely with Universal Standard to make sure we’re doing this thoughtfully.”
According to a June, 2018 report from Racked, Plunkett Research estimated that an estimated 68 percent of American women wear a size 14 or above, though many retailers do not offer clothing that would fit them. Racked also reported that the numbers are especially rough for high-end brands. Of the 300 or so labels that showed at New York Fashion Week last season, the fashion website reported that only 32 offer up to at least a size 16, and just 14 produce sizes 22 and above.
To make their Universal Standard collaboration more inclusive, J. Crew also plans to group all of the sizes together rather than putting larger pieces on their own. Alexandra Waldman, cofounder and creative director of Universal Standard said, according to Glamour, that this could be “a big step forward in unifying fashion and removing, once and for all, the ‘us’ and ‘them’ barrier that has always separated women.”
“This is the beginning of a true change in the apparel industry and the start of true inclusivity,” Waldman said. “It’s important because it’s not a separate subcategory of a brand, or a quick grab for the larger-sized consumer. It’s a dedicated strategy to bring millions of American women into the fold and make them feel part of the style enjoyed only by the smaller women until now.”
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