A walk down the aisle at your nearest clothing store will reveal an unfair and painful truth — fashion favours smaller bodies. Plus-sized buyers aren’t a priority for mainstream, ready-to-wear, retail labels.
While some major outlets are manufacturing larger sizes, customers face slim pickings if they want trendy, well-curated options. Things are considerably better on the virtual front as homegrown, independent labels are paving the way for utilitarian, size-inclusive clothing. Here are some domestic labels that are helping us fit and shop better:
BlissClub
Minu Margeret’s brand became a success overnight because it identified what the activewear industry just assumed women never needed – pockets! Their best-selling leggings come with four (yes, four!) pockets – one at the front, a zippered one at the back and two hidden pockets.
This is the perfect athleisure for your morning runs as you don’t need to worry about losing your keys or your phone. The material is soft, stretchy, breathable and yet retains its shape and firmness. They are made with the brand’s signature CloudSoft fabric, which is essentially a soft, durable and brushed microfibre yarn. Their bottom wear picks shape and lifts the lower body, so they are highly recommended.
Bliss also makes it a point to leave out large logos from their clothing. This makes it easy to repurpose your workout clothes for casual brunches, with no ugly marketing material getting in the way. Their sizes range from XS to XXXL.
Spirit Animal
Kriteesha Jain’s plus-size-first label caters to curvaceous women who wear a size 12 or higher. And their sizes go up to 6XL. From joggers and yoga pants to sports bras and tops – Spirit Animal aims to please with their curated collection of fashion wear.
The company launched in 2018 with a singular purpose – to give plus-size women in India the space to display their unique style with maximum comfort.
Their activewear co-ord line features The Feel Comfy Bra that comes with removable pads and medium support and follows your natural movement for a better fit
The Pink Moon
Divya Goenka’s plus-sized label has a focus on responsible production. The brand uses fabric sourced from the leftovers of export factories and mills. They have an in-house production team to guarantee their artisans are treated fairly. This makes sure there is consistent quality control. They also have a zero-waste policy. Batch manufacturing methods minimise the amount of unsold inventory that is thrown away.
Their sizes range from L to 6XL. They sell dresses, tops, jackets, activewear and bottoms.
The leftover fabric is recycled through pop-up events, free gifts of new designs and samples of upcoming trends.
Aastey
Jeevika Tyagi and Kanupriya Kundhra’s mindful plus-size label made waves recently when Anshula Kapoor wore it on Instagram, to share her wellness journey. The brand was founded in 2020 in the middle of the epidemic, when the founders realized it was time to change the way we look at fashion and life.
Their Werk It line is a fun collection of workout gear for all sizes. Buyers can also customise the number based on length, which sets the bar really high for other inclusive fashion brands. They use high quality, flexible and sustainable fabric that doesn’t restrict movement.
Big Banana
Big Banana focuses on tailor-made, plus-size picks for men. They sell a wide range of clothing – joggers, shirts, sweaters, boxers and shorts are a few of the many categories on their website. Buyers who struggle with sourcing size-inclusive, day-to-day clothing within a budget will love their line-up.
They’re also sustainable in their approach and add helpful style pointers to each of their product descriptions.
