11 Honoré Launches BIPOC Designers Initiative
Danielle Williams Eke in Greta Constantine. Courtesy.
Spurred by last summer’s racial reckoning, which 11 Honoré design director Danielle Williams Eke dubs a “re-awakening of America in regards to diversity and inclusion,” the plus-size luxury retailer is launching a new, recurring initiative in which it will help BIPOC designers — of various categories, including contemporary, high end and indie — launch into extended sizing.
The six debut pieces, ranging in price from $550 to $2545 and dresses to trench coats, will be available on 11 Honoré’s site starting today.
This initiative in particular was born out of a desire on Williams Eke’s part for the retailer to stock more Black designers. The company has been working with its first two designers — LaQuan Smith, known for his sultry, high-gloss catsuits, gowns and capri pants, and Greta Constantine, a peppy occasionwear brand fronted by Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong — for months to develop fit for the pieces plucked from the brands’ Spring/Summer collections.
Extended sizing is a category that has proven difficult for brands to get right due to fit issues, expense and general misunderstanding and neglect of the plus-size consumer. 11 Honoré’s objective has always been to help alleviate those issues, expanding access to luxury and high-end fashion to plus-size women — who have historically been relegated to unflattering, shape-concealing and oft-inconsistent offerings.
This initiative, beyond being a test by the site to see if customers will be excited by the designers, is an experiment in a new business model for the 11 Honoré.
