Image via Style Blazer
Despite the release of some pretty fabulous preview photos of Joseph Altuzarra‘s lookbook for Target, not everyone is so pleased with the outcome. Due out on September 14, the 50-piece collection fueled a passionate response from blogger Chastity Garner. She wrote an open letter via her blog, garnerstyle.blogspot.co.uk, expressing her disappointment in Target for excluding plus-size options in their designer collaborations.
Year after year, season after season, you put out these gorgeous designer collections and you almost never include a plus range. Every time each of these collections is about to be released it feels like a slap in the face. To add insult to injury, over 6 months ago, you took most of your plus size clothing out of the store, promising me something new and improved and that has yet to happen.
A Target spokesperson has since responded via Refinery29 with an apology and a guarantee that plus size fashion lines are already in the works.
Garner is not the first person to openly speak about this issue and she won’t be the last. I can’t imagine browsing through an affordable, highly anticipated menswear collection and not being able to fit one single garment. Unfortunately, the majority of the fashion industry is catered to slim sizes. Some designers, Karl Lagerfeld for example, are unapologetic about their vision because they only create for one aesthetic that they view as fashionable. In this case, however, I don’t think Target or Joseph Altuzarra intentionally planned to exclude a certain size range. Although Target’s collaborations haven’t specifically catered to plus sizes, they haven’t been as polarizing as high-end brands like Chanel either. The Peter Pilotto line for Target was VERY popular on curvier girls and even Target’s director of design partnerships, who is not plus size but still not a size 2, looked great in an Altuzarra dress at the CFDA Awards. I respect and understand this blogger’s opinion, but she might have benefited from doing a little bit more research before she posted her opinion. Still, her voice is definitely being heard so I commend her for being open and honest about her truth.