To former plus model and present plus-model trainer Gwendolyn DeVoe, New York Fashion Week never felt all that inclusive.
While participating in the long-held fashion industry tradition, the CEO of DeVoe Signature Events could never quite wrap her head around the fact that this week, and other fashion weeks around the world, rarely showcased clothes for women with non-size-zero bodies.
The profound experience ignited her drive to create a new kind of fashion week — an inclusive celebration of every kind of woman imaginable.
She deemed her new event Full Figured Fashion Week, or FFFWeek.
This year, FFFWeek invited women of all sizes, shapes, ethnicities, ages, identities, and so on, to spend one week in New York City. There, they celebrated each other's beauty and moved forward the conversation about equal representation for plus models and consumers in the fashion industry.
DeVoe told LittleThings of running FFFWeek, "My goal is to continue to use FFFWeek as a platform to bridge the gap between brands and the plus consumer."
Keep scrolling to learn more about how this inspiring event is empowering women to embrace and flaunt their beautiful bodies.
[H/T: The Huffington Post]
When former plus model and present plus model trainer Gwendolyn DeVoe first started participating in New York Fashion Week, she could never quite find a true sense of belonging.
The clothes on the runways never felt like they were designed with plus women, like her, in mind.
Empowered by this inner unrest, the now CEO of DeVoe Signature Events developed a fashion week of her own.
"After attending a NYFW show and realizing that the pieces I saw on the runway were not — and probably would never be — available to me in my size," DeVoe told LittleThings, "I was inspired to create Full Figured Fashion Week (FFFWeek)."
The creator and executive producer of Full Figured Fashion Week continued, "I felt that plus-size women deserved an opportunity to see, and ultimately purchase, great fashion in their size as well."
FFFWeek aims to gift women of all shapes, sizes, identities, ethnicities, and so on, the chance to finally see themselves celebrated on the runway.
"Overall, the mission of FFFWeek is to bridge the gap between fashion-conscious plus consumers and brands," DeVoe said. "We hope that our event will be used as a platform to bridge this gap."
Since 2009, the event has continued growing in size and influence every year.
DeVoe said, "Our 2016 event, held this past June, was attended by over 500 plus fashion enthusiasts and was our biggest event to date."
All sorts of different brands attended this year's event, showcasing their fashions on the runways, as well as gifting women attendees opportunities to shop their styles.
Sporting garments from size 12 to 32, and in all price ranges, this event continued its beautifully inclusive legacy — recognizing plus-size women, so often cast aside or significantly limited in fashion, the chance to finally indulge in choice.
When asked what lessons she's learned from producing this event year after year, DeVoe told LittleThings: "Producing this event has taught me that the plus community is a force to be reckoned with.
"The plus consumer is a loyalist who spends thousands of dollars each year on beauty and fashion items. It is time to recognize the tremendous spending power of this consumer."
"Plus fashion has come a long way," she said.
"Quite a few brands are now adding plus-size collections to their existing collections, thereby increasing the amount of fashion choices plus consumers have.
"I foresee more brands doing this, which would definitely take plus fashion to the next level. Accessibility is paramount!"
While this event was, at the onset, DeVoe's brainchild, it has since become incredibly meaningful to countless other plus women in the fashion community.
So much so, that when DeVoe began feeling like she no longer had the resources or drive to continue producing the event herself, other players stepped up to the plate — dead set on helping this powerful week continue to inspire the masses.
"Although there have been several, one of the most powerful moments associated with FFFWeek was after deciding to no longer produce the event, I received a call from our current presenting sponsor, Fit for Me by Fruit of the Loom.
"The brand was extremely excited to partner with FFFWeek and asked me to continue producing the event.
"When I realized that one of the core values of the brand was to 'strive to promote self-esteem in all individuals,' I knew the partnership would be an excellent fit for FFFWeek, because we do the same via fashion."
She continued: "We are appreciative of our partnership with Fit for Me, our presenting sponsor, and all of the other brands and independent designers who participated this year.
"Next year's event, scheduled for June 11 to 17, 2017, promises to be even larger, and we hope that everyone makes plans to attend."
This empowering week gifts women from all walks of life the beautiful opportunity to come together, praise each other, and forge new, body positive change.
What do you think of this body positive event? Have you ever attended an empowering event like this? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.
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