Plus-size fashion is hitting an inflection point

In the USA, the plus-size women’s clothing industry is valued at $17 billion, according to an industry trade group. And the category is growing. With the average American woman being a size 16 to 18, there’s plenty of need for more plus-size options. More recently, mainstream brands such as Target, Forever 21, American Eagle’s underwear label Aerie and Reformation have introduced plus-size collections. Target drew praise last year after teaming up with Victoria Beckham for its Ava & Viv plus-size line, and continued its body positivity push this year with a new line of plus-size swimwear. And Reformation launched a high-end plus-size line last month — telling customers, “Sorry it took us so long” — while introducing The Reformation x Ali Tate Cutler Collection in response to comments and requests for “more inclusive sizing.” New Yorker Kayla Rose last week launched Curvsi, a platform for women sizes 10 and up to buy and sell new and used clothing. The app allows users to scroll through dresses, blouses, pants, jackets, swimwear and other items from a number of different brands like Eloquii, Lane Bryant and Ashley Stewart, Rose said, and has already seen more than 2,500 downloads with 100 items listed for sale per day.